The Fourth House
by Dewpoint
Summary: Amidst the power struggles that existed on the continent of Fódlan, there existed a fourth house at the Garreg Mach Monastery led by the next leader of an island nation. When the calls for progress began to grow louder, the young leader looked towards the mainland for answers. The ensuing chronicles of the dreamer and her companions' journey would become the stuff of legends.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer 1: I don't own Naruto nor Fire Emblem: Three Houses**_

_**Disclaimer 2: If you're one of those individuals that wanted to go into FE3H completely unaware and unspoiled from whatever media currently showcases the game, I highly encourage you to please stop reading! I tried to keep things as non-spoilery as possible but don't take that for granted!**_

"Speech"

_Exposition_

"**Loud"**

_Thinking_

_**Naruko's Exposition**_

_**Author's Note**_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

_For the denizens that resided in the island nation of the Hinokuni Confederacy, the sea was viewed as the greatest blessing bestowed upon them by the gods. It provided the nation a wealth of uncontested trading routes, bounty from fishing, and most importantly served as a bastion against would-be conquerors. The great blue expanse was the cornerstone of how the citizens and nobles of the province were able to successfully secede from the Adrestian Empire centuries ago._

_It was seen as an ideal kingdom by its citizens, one that was founded on independence and the idea steadfast resolve was the key to a strong coalition. Those of Kunian descendance were groomed to stick together and feed off the metaphorical flames of each other's Will of Fire, a concept meant to inspire courage and hope while promoting the concept that a Kunian's worth was measured by their ability to endure. Those that could persevere together were those most valued by society. The concept of crossing the sea to set foot on the mainland of Fódlan was often viewed as blasphemous as a result. The individuals that did sail were those that sought glory beyond their nation's pristine shores, criminals escaping punishment (that usually didn't end well, mind you), or the special few that had personal business with the figures in power that comprised the three nations that existed on the mainland._

Naruko often wondered if her ancestors felt the same pressure she currently felt on their sail to the continent as her blue eyes looked out to the sea. The ship she and her future classmates and soldiers sailed on steadily kept course as the winds seemed to promise a safe journey, at least until they reached the shore. Despite the constant teasing she received on a daily basis, the descendant of the House of Uzumaki suffered at the hands of her friends and superiors, the redhead mage was no fool when it came to the bigger picture. The future Head of the Confederacy knew that the day she was selected to become the future leader of Hinokuni, everything would change, not just for her life, but for everyone around her.

_The Hinokuni Confederacy itself was comprised of several noble houses, no different than The Leicester Alliance. The primary difference being how a head was determined. While the mountainous Alliance relied on the House of Riegan's leadership, the island Confederacy had two primary houses of leadership: the Senju and the Uchiha, both of whom possess two of the thirteen crests of the elite. The two families made decisions and mutually elected a head from one of the houses based on overall merit. If a crisis were to arise, the noble houses would rally under the banner of the elected head, dubbed in the local tongue as "The Kage"._

Naruko looked back out to the sea and unconsciously reached behind her to pull up an imaginary hood, grimacing when she remembered the Officer's Academy uniform for house leaders didn't allow that in the dress code. Dammit, so what if she was to head the Orange Foxes? Didn't she at least get some liberties in how she got to present herself? The elders and current Heads insisted she looked her best with the outfit they designed for her, ridiculous! Suddenly the redhead mage became much more envious of Hinata's slightly lower status, the bluenette got her hood under her uniform and all Naruko got for her troubles was an overly pristine garb supposedly "befitting her status as the next leader of the Confederacy-blah blah blah…"

_As the next in line for the throne, the future of our nation rests on your shoulders. Every decision you make will be observed not just by us but by our counterparts in the other three nations of Fódlan. Our island nation's future will be shaped by the vision you decide is the best course of action. As such, it is imperative that you- hey, are you listening Naruko? _**Naruko**!

"Bwuh?! Huh? Are we under attack? Can I fight yet?!"

Sakura could only sigh as she watched the redhead soon to be Head jumped in fright and suddenly come back down the Fódlan from whatever session of deep thinking her friend immersed herself in, a scary thought in all honesty. This was her future Queen, gods help them all. Not many people would have considered deep thinking to be one of Naruko's strong points, but Sakura knew she was much more analytical than she let other people see. When it was out in the open like this however, something was up. Truth be told, Sakura felt something _had_ been up ever since Naruko was chosen as the future Head. It was as though the weight of responsibility finally dawned on the redhead and now she had to account for what that entailed.

"Alright, since nothing I'm saying is reaching you right now, let's take a break on the briefing. You've been acting stranger than normal, and that's saying something. I can tell your mind's been elsewhere for awhile so why don't you talk to me? We're all worried about you, Lady Naruko…"

"A-ah. Is it really that obvious?" Naruko had the decency look sheepish at Sakura's concerned frown, mentally wincing at her title. "It's nothing you have to worry about, really. It's been my dream to become the leader of Hinokuni, feels like I finally earned everyone's acknowledgement, the right to lead them…"

Naruko leaned on the railings of the ship they were on as Kunian soldiers and deck crew stationed under her leadership went about their business, looking out to the sea. Sakura pressed on with her analysis, "…and?"

"And…" the redhead paused, looking pensive. "It never occurred to me I'd also need to make good impressions with the other nobles at the academy. On behalf of the Confederacy and whatnot."

"That's a surprisingly tame reason for you to get worked up. I think we're all with you on that one" Sakura smiled.

"Not to mention we're going to need to wade around centuries of political crap between the four houses and firmly establish who are our allies and enemies, y'know?!"

"It really was a big thing you got worried about after all!" Sakura balked.

"Hinokuni has to deescalate tensions with the Adrestian Empire before they decide to get up in our business after that surge in piracy, we have an opportunity to meet the leaders of the Leicester Alliance again and maybe finally organize a trade deal with them, and the knights in Faerghus might have combat routines we could sorta maybe swap notes with but it all hinges on me not making an ass outta myself and actually getting along with the other-"

"O-okay Naruko, I get where you're coming from but-"

"-And then there's this intel I got from my good for nothing, perverted excuse of a knight, godfather that just might suggest that there's a bigger conspiracy that surrounds the Church, moreso than what the other houses are aware of! If what I've analyzed is true and if there are additional organizations threatening the stability of the mainland, what sort of political quagmire are we really throwing ourselves into here?! Hinokuni's official position has always been-"

"**Naruko!**" said girl's rant quickly halted at the ridiculous volume of her pinkette friend's vocal chords. Said pinkette, prettily garbed in her own version of the academy uniform let the redhead relax after getting an earful, "Okay, maybe your problems are little more serious than any of us realized."

The future head let out a grunt of confirmation after stating what she thought was obvious. Sakura continued, "Can I be honest? As the only future student among the Orange Foxes that isn't a noble, this might be bigger than anything I thought I would involve myself in."

Sakura sheepishly rubbed her arm at Naruko's downtrodden expression before continuing, "I kinda get now why you've been freaking out and I guess I don't blame you, but what I DO know is that whatever trouble you inevitably get yourself into…" the redhead let out a growl as Sakura giggled at the obvious reaction. "We'll have your back. The Will of Fire burns at its strongest when we're together, right?"

Naruko was quietly surprised by that vote of confidence. The surprise grew even more when other soldiers and deckhands that had been privy to the not-so-quiet conversation also shouted and gave words of encouragement. Sakura gave her a genuine smile seeing her shock and spoke again.

"Try not to look too surprised, you won't be alone in your goals. I think all of us here are one hundred percent behind you, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself yet. Did you talk with any of our other friends about this yet?"

She hadn't. But after that surprisingly reassuring rally, maybe she might just do that.

_**Sakura is a close friend of the crown and looking to train herself in the healing arts while at the academy. She's kinda bossy and violent, but I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything in the world, someone as determined as her earned her place among us, I'd say! Don't let her status as the only commoner among the Foxes fool you though, she's got a crazy strong punch! Personally I think she should be training in axes, not staves, heh.**_

* * *

"I see… so that's what got you all in a tizzy these past couple days."

Shikamaru let out a lethargic yawn from on top of the crow's nest. The twin-tailed firebrand found him perched up in an area she should've guessed he'd situate himself to get out of anything, never mind how the actual worker on duty had to work around him to spot any landmarks. She'd have to issue an apology to the sailor later for her designated tactician's lack of energy…

"Guess I won that bet with Kiba. I figured the gravity of the political situation on the mainland would eventually get through to you but he thought you were worked up over something else you'd probably punch him over…"

"Huh? Even Kiba picked up that I was worried about something? Wait a minute! What did that mutt say about me, dammit?!"

The lazy Nara rolled his eyes and elected to change the subject before the future Inuzuka crest bearer got into another nasty spar session, "Everyone that's going to join you in the Orange Foxes knew you were worried about something, I guess in a lot of ways it's going to be reassuring that underneath your bullheaded exterior, you're taking our assignments seriously."

"We have a real opportunity to make a difference here, Shika. I can't afford to make mistakes now that I have to go about acting like a proper Head. The Foxes deserve that much out of me, and Hinokuni itself deserves the chance to see the mainland."

Shikamaru gave a satisfied smirk from his reclined position gazing at the clouds. "Well your proposition is pretty solid from my view. Though you're going to need to scope out what the other three lords are like… I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole."

"Hmm, let's see…" Naruko pondered thinking back to her intelligence briefing back home as she sat precariously by the ship's topsail, "Edelgarde is supposed to be pretty dignified from what we've found out. I'll have to probably have to work the hardest with her to see if there's anything we both like, at least we're both girls…"

"That Dimitri fellow strikes me as a poster boy for knight in training…" Shikamaru helpfully supplied from his place on the floor, eyes now closed much to Naruko's annoyance. Had he always had that pillow? "You can probably work him over with some training or something. Just do us all a favor and don't accidentally punch him out and start an international incident."

If the twintailed girl was annoyed by that statement, she didn't show it. "So sparring, got it. Ha! I can definitely work with that. That just leaves Claude."

"The Leicester Alliance was always interested in working with us to begin with, so he'll probably seek you out himself. Same deal though, please don't punch or set him on fire…"

"Oi, have some faith in your future Head! You're dealing with the scion of the Uzumaki family, Naruko Senju-Uzumaki, y'know? Besides, what about you, you lazy bum? I'm gonna be relying on your A-game as well!"

"That sounds like more work than it's worth. Couldn't I just bring no game instead? Let me sleep on the sidelines? Maybe I can take one of the lifeboats back to-"

"No."

"Ugh, troublesome." Uh oh. Mt. Naruko looked ready to erupt... Shikamaru sighed, "Relax, we can't go into this with frayed nerves, right? Just take it easy for now… When the time comes, you'll have all of us behind you to take action. I, ugh, I'll be there as well by your side as well. Gotta do my part as your tactician after all."

That seemed to placate Naruko as she gave a genuine smile, "Thanks, Shika. You're the smartest guy our age, I just want to make sure when the time comes, we're all ready to act."

"Yeah, yeah I get it" the lazy noble gave a relaxed smile and hand wave, "No one is going to fall under my watch. If you're giving it your all I'll be ready to give it my all as well, as the future leaders of Himokuni. I owe you that much."

_**Shikamaru is the next in line of the Nara household and probably the laziest bum I've ever met, he's the type of oaf to call in sick to a doctor's appointment to treat an actual illness. He also happens to be one of the smartest guys I've ever met. Underneath his lazy personality, I know he's one of my most loyal allies for Hinokuni's cause. Every day I'm thankful we're such great friends, because I definitely don't want to be his enemy!**_

* * *

"Ha! That's all your worried about? Why don't you cede the Orange Fox leadership to me? I'll handle everything!" Kiba barked with laughter.

Excitable as always, the shaggy haired brunet backed off from a frontal assault delivered by Naruko herself in the midst of another impromptu sparring session when she found him. She growled when her assault finished.

"No. Freaking. Way! The Officer's Academy would burn to the ground if you led anybody there! I'm already worried about your household if for whatever reason your sister decided to let you rule instead of her!"

"Oi, that's a little harsh don't you think? C'mon! I thought after all the years we've known each other I'd at least prove myself a little to you beyond being your friend and sparring buddy."

"And you are! But when we land, I need to shape up everyone, not just myself, y'know?"

Kiba paused their duel, staring pensively at one of the most stubborn girls he's come to know over the years. "Huh. I guess the rumors were true that you really were worried about the mainland reception to us."

Knowing their training took a stop for now, Naruko also relaxed in to a more comfortable stance. "Hinokuni's leadership always thought that we were better off not involving ourselves with the other three nations. You know I want to change that for a better chance at peace among all of us, the world's been changing after all and we can't be left behind."

"That's fair enough I guess. I won't lie myself, it seems a little daunting what we're trying to do here. But look on the bright side, we're going to get a real chance to improve ourselves when we get to the Academy. Whatever issues we face, we can take it head on, right?" Kiba always did have a knack for keeping things simple, Naruko thought. "I mean you heard the rumors too, there might be a chance in the future we get to be taught by Sir Jeralt himself, how awesome would that be? We might be able to convince him to help us improve our mercenary ranks, could you imagine how much stronger we'd be? That's already our expertise!"

"I'm not really gonna verify that. I mean, it WOULD be cool but it is just a rumor right now, heh."

"Even so! As stupid as even more schooling sounds..." Naruko nodded wordlessly at his statement, "We got an opportunity to really milk the resources here, right?"

The brown haired noble's demeanor became serious.

"Rumors or not, we can really show off how much game the Orange Foxes got, especially since we'll be all joining together at the same time as a house. I'll do my part as well to sniff out anyone who'd try and take us out. We're all a team, yeah?"

Naruko couldn't keep a smile off her face at his straightforward enthusiasm, "Alright, that was a pretty cool line. And yeah, we are a team, and a kickass one at that, y'know?!" Kiba and Naruko whooped as other soldiers observing the fight cheered in agreement below deck where a sparring area was set up in the galleon they were sailing in.

"Yeah!"

"You got this, princess!"

"We got your back!"

"Orange team rules!"

Kiba let out a good natured chuckle at the mutual enthusiasm shared by everyone as Naruko closed her eyes and nodded to herself at a job well done. As the cheering died down, she lifted her practice blade in a newer, more threatening combat stance and motioned for Kiba to do the same.

Kiba picked up in the change in atmosphere and began sweating, "H-hey, I thought we were done sparring for the day, aren't we all in a good mood now?"

"Oh yeah! We totally are in a good mood. But also heard from a certain pineapple head bum that you had a different theory why I was stressing out so much and decided I needed to let out a little more steam, y'know?"

Kiba could only whimper and raise his blade as the serenely poised redhead launched herself at him with the intention of drilling a personal lesson into him for the umpteenth time.

_**Kiba is a son of the Inuzuka household that acts more like a dog than he does noble. He barks a lot and admittedly does have a nasty bite- not like that, perverts! Course, he's also pretty straight-forward and dependable when you need him. That's pretty dog-like too, I guess, but his reliability is his best feature. I know I can count on his help when I need it among the Foxes.**_

* * *

"Well I'm glad to see you in a better mood, Naruko! Of course you have my support, I'd never turn away from my friends if I'm training to be a warrior for Hinokuni." Choji gave a warm smile as he indulged in another round of meat and potatoes in the mess hall.

Naruko grinned from the other side of the table as she indulged in her third bowl of ramen, a Hinokuni delicacy she'd claim as the food of the gods that thankfully was served as part of the ship's meal program at her request. Slurping up another round of noodles, she made a vague noise that indicated her appreciation for all things culinary before talking.

"Thanks, Choji! I know I can count on you when the going gets rough. I just figured it was best to run this by everyone before we made it to port, I gotta make sure we're all on the same page before we land. Seems like everyone is gearing up to pick up what classes they want to take. I can't say I'm too excited by that prospect…"

"Aw, it shouldn't be too bad." Choji moved the now empty plate out of the way and began working on a drumstick, "It's not like we're just learning things you'd find boring. This will be a great opportunity to pick up skills and tactics we can't get in Hinokuni. I bet you'll get a kick out of their combat programs and magic lessons."

A passing worker took away Naruko's sixth empty bowl with a vaguely nauseated expression at the rapid inhalation of soup and meat, "Mm. That's true, huh? I bet there's a ton of classes for what you want to do as well." The now bubbly glutton spoke up, with a smug grin on her face, "not to mention the chance to try out delicacies from all three kingdoms, eh?"

"You bet! Hinokuni's food is the best but you can't tell me you aren't interested in seeing how it stacks up to the other provinces!"

"Nah, nothing beats the taste of ramen."

"Expand your horizons! Why, you might even find something to love on the mainland."

Naruko almost spit the broth of her ninth bowl of ramen, "S-something to love?"

"Huh? Yeah! Don't be afraid to pursue your own dreams either, Naruko. I know there are things I want to do and try in the Officer's Academy as well, even if other people might tell us otherwise."

The next head of the Foxes pondered what she wanted as well.

"A chance for something new, huh…"

"We'll all be in this together, so don't let anyone else bring you down. You were there for all of us as well." Choji smiled good naturedly. "And well, if anybody chooses to look down on us or mention something like my weight…"

The pressure in the mess hall suddenly increased as Naruko's eye twitched at the absurdity, crew members floundered about, and Choji's expression grew comically serious.

"Well, they'll get what's coming to them."

_**Choji's the heir to the Akimichi household, another longtime friend of mine that I've known since I was a kid, like the other folks in my House, y'know? He's the strongest out of any of us but a gentle giant when off the battlefield, I can always go to him to relax if things get crazy and Shikamaru usually isn't too far behind. Don't let his easygoing nature fool you though, you make him mad enough he'll wipe the floor with you!**_

* * *

"Well I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you went and messed up your hair after hearing you out. Sheesh now you've gone and gotten me worried as well! Sit down, will you?"

"I uh, really didn't stop by for a glow up, Ino. Really. I just wanted to share our plans and move on to see-"

"I can certainly hear you out while brushing your hair. Honestly, I can't let the future Kage of our nation walk among other nobles in this state!"

Naruko sighed. It was pointless to try and gloss her appearance over with the most materialistic member of her House. The crimson haired princess was pretty sure she looked fine but she needed Ino focused as well, she didn't look the part half the time but after studying with her enough, Naruko knew the platinum blonde heiress knew her way around a tome and stave. She sat down and relented to Ino's demands. She admitted it did feel nice to have someone else comb her hair while in her friend's cabin.

"So… you'll be personally working to charm over the other House leaders, Church, and teachers I hear?"

"Eugh, yeah. Kinda don't like how you put it but that's pretty much the first step to securing an opportunity for Hinokuni to work some influence in the region. I'm not expecting a ton of progress first but I gotta start somewhere."

"Sigh, your goals really make me feel inadequate sometimes. Maintaining appearances and working to smooth over relations with the other nations on top of our school works is way more impressive than what I planned."

"Make Sakura eat your dust and find a boyfriend?"

"Oi. My scissors are right there. I don't mind making an impromptu haircut, you being my leader or not."

Naruko let out an unladylike snort at that reaction and let Ino continue with her work.

"I'm serious too! You weren't the only one that got a dose of reality with our situation and opportunities. I'm the heiress to the House of Yamanaka. I along with everyone else has a reputation to uphold and a chance to help you out with establishing relationship with the three kingdoms and church." Ino insisted. Naruko did admit as she got older, the blonde did make strides in acting like a proper leader, even if they both were aspiring to do better.

"I guess I really didn't have anything to worry about with you after all. Sorry, my nerves have been frayed recently and I'm sure you all were weirded out by my behavior."

"I think we all caught on to what you wanted to do. Even if the challenges ahead seem a little daunting…" Ino's brushing slowed down at that statement, "But we'll all be pushing each other to do better after all. Everyone here is a flower waiting to bloom beautifully, I want to do my part in making sure everyone can shine for the world to see. So let me and everyone else help you, Lady Naruko!" She finished with a wink and a smile.

"…Heh. Alright then I guess. I'll be in your care Lady Ino!" Naruko remarked, giving her own lopsided grin unseen by Ino but certainly felt from her happy words. The blonde heiress really did mature into someone she could rely on after all.

"Hmm now that I think about it, Sakura's bloom is probably more weed-like than the average flower, hmm? Hee hee!"

Naruko couldn't stop her deadpan expression from forming. Ok, maybe Ino was still a work in progress.

_**Ino the heiress to the House of Yamanaka, pretty much what you'd expect from a girl who's been pampered all her life but I guess it can't be helped. Sometimes I worry her head is lost in the clouds or dreaming about something boyfriend related when we should be studying but I guess I'm no different than her. I do admire her enthusiasm to help out though, I know she's tougher than she looks and her rivalry with Sakura, while kinda annoying is going to help push each other to improving. I'm confident I can rely on her when the situation calls for it.**_

* * *

"It's wonderful to see you in higher spirits, Lady Naruko. I understand the pressure you felt, but I imagine it was on another scale for it to shake you as badly as it did."

"Ehehe, thanks Hinata! Oh and do me a favor and drop the titles, yeah? You know I'm not really big on those."

The final heiress of their little band let out a melodic laugh and complied with her close friend's request as they sat for tea in her quarters. Hinata used to be an enigma to Naruko, but growing up with her and watching her struggles and growth taught her to have more confidence in the formerly weepy blunette.

"Still though, I can't thank the gods enough for your improved health. You've always been such a larger than life figure to everyone here. You know if there's anything I can do for you…"

"I know, I know. Really Hinata, I'm fine now I just… need to focus again y'know? There's a lot more at stake than just us anymore. And it's not just Hinokuni's future I gotta worry about. If I'm going to find a cure for your family's crest issues…"

Hinata gave a sad smile at the redhead's worry. To Naruko, the situation with the Hyuga Household was the epitome of what was currently wrong with the Confederacy. Long ago, during an era of discovery, the Hyuga discovered a method of manipulating their inherited crest into granting additional benefits, at the cost of accidentally granting absolute dominion over lesser members when rituals were performed correctly through magic. _Slavery_, Naruko thought. No one was immune and rather than forbid the practice, the capacity to ensure order in one of the largest Houses in the Confederacy was decided as an acceptable practice, much to horror of Naruko and many others.

Previous generations had no idea how to tackle the issue and rather than look outwards for a solution, Hinokuni remained adamant in preventing weakness from being shown to other nations that might look to exploit their vulnerability. Hinata, despite inheriting the major Crest of Hamura of the Thirteen Elites, was originally slated to receive the seal early in her youth due to her perceived weakness and meek disposition. Constant exposure to the passionate Uzumaki and desire to grow stronger along side her eventually gave way into molding her into what many saw as the jewel of the Hyuga Household… at the cost of condemning her sister to the seal.

It was horrible. Reprehensible. The seal became one of the first things Naruko vowed to fix when she became the future leader of the Confederacy and played a part in helping her become as determined as she was for the sake of Hinokuni's future. The nation didn't need a façade of power to demonstrate their capabilities, actions spoke louder than words and she was intent on proving it. Hinata for her part made the decision early to stick by the Senju-Uzumaki descendant in search of a cure. When the opportunity finally arose to join the next generation of the Orange Foxes at the Officer's Academy, she was the first to answer her leader's call. For her sister and her cousin. For her family.

"I don't think I've thanked you enough for, well, everything over the years, Naruko." The blunette began quietly. "U-um, do you mind if I speak selfishly for a moment?"

"I don't think there's a selfish bone in your body, but of course." Naruko reassured her.

"Thank you." Hinata smiled. She was so nice, Naruko thought. Too nice for this sinful world. "I used to cry and give up all the time, more times than I could count. When you pulled me out from my despair and showed me that I could become more than I was, I knew I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

"Hinata…" Naruko wondered if her fellow heiress was even aware of the influence she had on her and her current confidence. Despite the acceptance of her colleagues that she'd talk to so far, Naruko knew in her heart she'd need to step up to protect them more than ever…

"But you mustn't forget, your life is no longer your own. Everyone here on the ship believes in you as much as I do, maybe more. You must allow us to stand by your side and share your burdens alongside you."

Naruko looked away with conflict. "You say that so easily, but what kind of Head would I be if I didn't shoulder everyone's burdens? I can't just sit back and let people suffer like Neji or Hanabi!" She looked ashamed as she continued, "I know I'm not strong enough by myself, but I can't let anyone else think I'm weak again… Not when there are so many eyes on me…"

The room grew quiet as the untouched tea progressively grew cooler in the silence. Finally Hinata spoke.

"You know, there are whispers in my household. They talk about you and what you've said about our crest."

"Nothing positive, I'd imagine." The future leader's twintails briefly bobbed as she let out a bitter laugh.

"There's hope in my family again, Naruko. They talk about the next leader of the Confederacy and how you and I will find a cure on the mainland." Hinata gently smiled as Naruko's expression morphed into one of shock. She briefly noted this wasn't the first time today this happened either.

"Cousin Neji, Hanabi, even my father seem to have all taken your message of hope to heart. If I'm not wrong, I believe everyone here has as well, even if they wouldn't word it quite that way." Naruko remained silent as Hinata continued.

"Whatever challenges we face in the future. I beg of you, you must allow us to stand by your side and let us shoulder your burdens as you've shouldered ours. Relying on others is not a weakness, Naruko. It's proof of trust and strength, you taught me that."

Naruko remained speechless. Sometimes she found it hard to believe this was the same dark and depressed girl who followed her around as the redhead constantly encouraged to try harder. She felt Hinata's hand over hers at that moment.

"When our enemies meet us head on, they'll see a unified force. One that won't be easily quashed when we all stand together. Everyone from Hinokuni will support you… As will the other kingdoms with any luck." Hinata finished with a brilliant smile.

A million thoughts had been running through Naruko's mind that day but at that moment, she felt nothing but appreciation for Hinata's belief in her. She felt more relaxed than she had at that exact moment and couldn't keep the heartfelt smile that rose as naturally as the sun off her face in response to the next Hyuga heiress' speech. The encouragement here was definitely needed in order to face the final member of their House. She couldn't help but show how much she cherished her words though.

"Thanks Hinata. I won't let you down. Or anyone else for that matter."

"I know you won't. our creed is the same after all. Never back down."

"And never give up!"

_**Hinata is the next in line to inherit the Hyuga Household, one of the most influential families in Hinokuni. You wouldn't guess it looking at her now but she used to be really shy and depressed when we were kids. Her household sucks too, so I don't blame her. Nowadays though you see a lady ready for war, am I right? She's one of the most amazing students we have among the Orange Foxes if you give her a chance to shine and you can bet she's going to amaze you, count on it!**_

* * *

"Arrgh, I give up! Where is that bastard when you need him?!"

The sun had long set as Naruko stormed onto the deck where she had her first chat with Sakura that morning, now much more empty as a skeleton crew worked the night shift. How hard could it have been to find the next most important member of their House? They reach port tomorrow!

Naruko sighed and began meditating by the side of the boat. A practice that helped her focus and stay in tune with the magical elements that her Uzumaki lineage blessed her with. Her retainer probably knew by now she would want to speak with him but probably waited until everyone had their turn and he could clear his own head before properly conversing before they made landfall.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting and listening to the sea's gentle motions, Naruko heard a distinct set of footsteps and aura she'd grown accustomed over the years. Opening her eyes, her eyes were greeted by the view of her broody, often stoic retainer, still clad in his academy uniform like the rest of them.

"You ass, did you really have to make me wait this long to talk with you? I want to hit the bed before tomorrow, y'know?"

Sasuke Uchiha, the last heir to the Uchiha Household and Naruko's counterpart in terms of lineage, took the insult in stride and rolled his eyes at the girl's obvious reaction. "If you must know," he droned, "I did my own walkthrough of the ship and directed all personnel for tomorrow's arrival while you engaged in your little pow wow with our House members."

"That's!" Naruko comically huffed and began deflating upon losing whatever argument she currently had. "…a fair way to spend your time. Ugh…"

The relationship between the Senju-Uzumaki heiress and the Uchiha heir was well known throughout the confederacy as was their rivalry. They were in competition for the throne after all and it didn't help they had the personalities to butt heads at any given moment. For the brash Naruko, no one could push her buttons and cause her to erupt as badly as the duckbutt pretty boy she called a brother and for the calculative Sasuke, there wasn't a single individual that could cause him to lose composure and get uncharacteristically heated as the tomato headed meathead he regarded as practically a sister.

They fought and saw each other at their worst and were there to comfort each other during their darkest hours. Sasuke let Naruko take out her frustrations on him when she used to dwell in frustration at her lack of mother and father and frequent loneliness. Naruko allowed Sasuke to rant to her when the pain from losing his own family became unbearable to stay silent over. Both regarded themselves as broken individuals at their worst but they also found common ground and companionship over the years to push each other to becoming what they were today. When Naruko was selected as the next Leader of the Hinokuni Confederacy, there was no anger or resentment. In a twist to the public, the next Lord of the Uchiha accepted the Uzumaki-Senju Heiress's request to become her retainer and serve as her right-hand man in shaping Hinokuni's future. A promise of loyalty to one another, if there ever was one.

"Moral is at an all-time high right now. That little stunt you pulled to share your heart with everyone worked. All we need to do now is pray to Seiros that you somehow become a much more likeable lady for the rest of Fódlan to deem as passable."

"You sure about that? Pretty sure it's your attitude everyone's going to be repulsed by. We're never going to win any allies if your happy face coincidentally happens to have the same contours as a horse's ass." A noise of amusement escaped Sasuke's throat as he regarded Naruko while they walked around the ship deck in private. "So what do you think."

"About?" the Uchiha inquired.

"About our goal. Peace. Making allies with the Adrestian Empire, Faerghus, and Leicester. Expanding our nation's influence and opening boarders again."

"Naïve. Idealistic. Believing things will work out that easily is guaranteed to destroy your vision." Naruko flinched at the assessment. "We're going into enemy territory with just the battalion we have on this ship. Should anything happen to you or an adversary decides they don't appreciate our involvement on the mainland, we're almost guaranteed to perish, and Hinokuni will have no heirs and no future leader to protect herself from threats."

"That's a ridiculously pessimistic way of looking at the situation, y'know. You can't say with certainty that's what's going to happen!" Naruko defended.

"But can you say it won't? Cant?" Sasuke responded, cutting to the heart of the issue. Naruko grit her teeth looking hurt at such an assessment she knew in her heart could happen even if she hoped and prayed that it wouldn't come to that. This bastard.. always knew how to bring out the worst in her! She and Sasuke faced each other silently as the ship continued to rock against the waves. Eventually the Uzumaki spoke from her spot as she looked back out to the waves.

"I know what you're doing." She whispered. "You don't need to worry about my conviction with this. I spent more time thinking about this than I care to admit, I'll probably dream about it tonight as well… But we can't just wait for a miracle to happen." She looked back towards him. "Hinokuni… Our future isn't just restricted to our nation's borders. There are opportunities, allies, and answers to so many things that we couldn't figure out within our capital out there."

"Enemies too."

"That may be so, but if the continent of Fódlan has existed for as long as it has under the Church's watchful eye, I'd like to believe that there are likeminded individuals that desire peace as much as I do, as much as I know YOU do. We have our hope, after all." Naruko finished, never breaking eye contact from the Sasuke's unflinching onyx eyes. Said dark haired individual's gaze pierced through the resolute crimson haired heiress's stare and carefully analyzed her conviction. After a minute of silence he looked out to the ocean himself.

"I know you'll always look towards the best case scenario of whatever we do. It's why I'll always bring up the worst of what could happen. You've always been the dreamer. I don't want to see you get blinded in your idealism and hurt because of it." He muttered.

"I know you will. You can trust me a little to realize the stakes of our battles too in the future, y'know? I'm aware this is our best bet to finding out the truth of what happened to your family" Naruko shifted to look out to the sea in the same direction as her fellow Heir, the direction of where the mainland was in the distance. "There are going to be times I see the worst in people too. Maybe lose my cool and think about doing something unforgivable..."

"And when the day comes that you lose sight of our dreams, I'll remind you of the opportunities we have to gain and hope for." Sasuke countered in an uncharacteristically gentle manner. The ship grew silent again as their conversation came to an end. That bastard, always knew how to bring out the best in her after all.

They talked a bit more after that. Logistics, marching patterns, and the route to the academy before calling it a night.

"Intel from the Academy states our rooms and lodging are prepared and we should be able to meet the other leaders of the three houses the day we arrive. When do you want to greet them?"

"Mm. no need to rush it. If anything, I'm sure we'll be busy getting settled in and situated to really force a meeting in without it being a coincidence. Makes more sense they'd see us after all, y'know?"

"Agreed. No matter our status to the other three kingdoms, it wouldn't make sense for them not to scope us out first. Sir Kakashi elected to greet us when we arrive at the Garreg Mach Monastery."

"Oh good, a familiar face! It'll be nice to have a respectable Kunian we can rely on over there."

"Didn't your grandfather also say he'd help from his position among the Knights of Seiros?"

"I know what I said."

"…"

"…"

"…Well I guess that covers everything then. I'm off to get some sleep."

"Yeah, alright see you tomorrow. Gonna give a final rally before we make landfall so be there for that."

"Hn. Don't agonize over it and spend too much time thinking of something, moron. You'll need all your energy for marching tomorrow." Sasuke reached the entrance of the lower deck before stopping and looking back to his smiling liege, giving her a smug look that put her on edge. "Not very professional of you to keep me awake when I wanted to fall asleep before tomorrow." And then he was gone.

The entire ship proceeded to then wake up at the sound of her scream of anger before a cover up was made to blame it on a mythical sea creature that existed in Fódlan lore. Reports were inconclusive that day as to how well the cover up worked

_**The final member of our merry little family is none other than my asshole of a retainer, Sasuke. He's from the other ruling family in Hinokuni but offered to serve as my retainer instead when I was chosen as next in line for the throne. He's a massive ass and a total loser and don't let his dumb, brooding looks fool you, I'm way cooler than him! Anyways, just because he's not as awesome as me, I'd say that he's a better fighter than the other members of our house and damn good at what he does. He's my rival and we've competed with each other for as long as we've been able to hold a sword, so trust me when I say no one but yours truly is allowed to beat him. I consider him my equal after all!**_

* * *

Preparations were made and from Naruto's view of the large crowd of soldiers and workers, all non-essential personnel appeared to be accounted for and present on the cluttered deck of the ship for her little speech with her fellow students in the uniform they shared with her right in front eager to hear what she had to say. She fiddled with the orange cloth on her own uniform and gave a glance to Sasuke at her side, looking poised with his hands behind his back. He stepped up and alerted the amassed group.

"**ATTENTION**!"

With the stage set, he gave her a nod and let her step up as she looked to the crowd of soldiers and students she was now responsible for.

"…Today's a big day for us, huh? I can't say in my lifetime if a delegation of Kunians this big has ever set foot on the mainland at the same time. I guess it's a testament to how much we've grown as a nation and how ready we are to meet our brothers and sisters on the mainland."

There were mutters of approval and nodding at the assessment.

"I… can't thank all of you enough for supporting us on this journey. There are going to be rough waters ahead but we knew that before going into this assignment."

From his place behind Naruko, Sasuke maintained an air of professionalism, hands still behind his back, using his sharp eyes to keep a lookout for anyone that would dare insult his liege.

"I'm not really good with chitchat and fancy speeches so let me get straight to the point!"

Some soldiers give a small chuckle from their place in the crowd that immediately dissipated and was replaced with a notably serious expression as the future Leader of the Confederacy straightened her posture even further. Her gaze held everyone in place and her voice reached to everyone on board.

"As of today, you are all a member of the Orange Fox Battalion! The pride and jewel of the Hinokuni Confederacy that seeks to carry the dreams and hopes of our nation and her citizens and share them with those in Fódlan!"

Shikamaru and Choji could be seen together in the crowd, earnestly taking to heart everything being said.

"Our mission is to establish the foundation of peace that will hopefully be shared among the three kingdoms and their allies, as well as ours. Every action you take from here on out will be judged by our peers as well as our would-be enemies."

Ino and Hinata nodded in agreement with the assessment as they listened to the speech closer to the front.

"As it stands, we do not have the luxury of calling in backup as reliably as the other three Houses, so I ask of you to stand by your fellow Kunian and support him more than ever. No one fights alone, **understood?**"

"**Yes ma'am!**"

"On the blood of our ancestors, on the oath for our citizens, under the watchful eye of Seiros, we swear to uphold the mandates of the Will of Fire!"

"**To protect our fellow brothers' and sisters' burning spirit!**"

"**To endure any wind that would dare snuff our flame together!**"

"Let no one come in the way of our bonds! The impact we make here on Fódlan will not be determined by dignity, honor, or wit alone! We make our impact by the weight of our actions, by the sincerity of our intentions, and most importantly in the face of adversaries we, Do not. **Back. Down**!"

Kiba and Sakura joined the crowd in yelling in agreement, eagerly showing their support.

"Don't let anyone hold us back! Seiros bless us, and long live the Confederacy!"

"**Long live the Confederacy!**"

"**Long live the Confederacy!**"

"**Long live the Confederacy!**"

The galleon, despite its majestic size practically vibrated from the roaring applause of the newly designated Orange Fox Battalion.

Naruko from her place at the front of the ship maintained an air of poise, for all of about nine seconds before shakily wiping away the sweat that had built up on her forehead, letting out the breath she had been holding. She looked behind to Sasuke to see him smirking in approval. "How'd I do?"

"A bit overdramatic. Including the creed of the Will of Fire was a bit ridiculous…" Naruko puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Sasuke masked his amusement and finished his critique. "…But I think the results speak for themselves." He motioned her to back out to the crowd.

Soldiers, sailors, and students were all cheering in support of her dream. There wasn't a single person that looked apprehensive of the future on that boat. If they weren't cheering at the moment, they were grinning and clapping.

"Lady Naruko! Land ho! The mainland has been spotted straight ahead, beginning preparations to dock at port!"

Somehow the sailor stationed at the crow's nest was able to get his voice heard by Naruko and everyone else who was curious at the sudden interruption. Following the announcement, another fresh wave of cheering began as everyone began to mobilize for landfall in what should be Adrestian Empire territory.

Naruko gave a challenging smirk as she looked out pass the bow at the harbor that came into view. They were about to begin a new adventure, a new chapter in all their lives. The challenges they faced would eventually rear their ugly faces in the future, but how could she not be excited? Her smirk grew into an outright dangerous grin as the galleon lumbered closer and escort ships began to guide them into port. A nearby bell could be heard heralding their arrival, or the beginning of something amazing.

"Let's get to work!"

* * *

"**Welcome to the Officer's Academy! Home to four incredible Houses in need of your tutelage, and guidance through the treacherous waters that the future holds for them. Before we go any further, I should probably introduce myself! My name is Naruko Senju-Uzumaki. House leader of the Orange Foxes! Due to the combative work our people rely on it's only natural our House specializes in the mercenary arts and blades, like you, Professor!**

**We specialize in these things because our students hail from the Confederacy of Hinokuni. I should know, I was selected as the next leader of the nation, that's Kage in our local tongue! Seen our coat of arms yet? It's pretty snazzy! The fox that you see is supposed to the be majestic guardian of our land, the one that gifted Kunians with the Will of Fire, pretty much a promise that we'll always stand strong together and weather any storm. Hinokuni itself is an island nation uncorrupted from the problems of the mainland, located in Southeast Fódlan where we get to enjoy a bit of space from the Adrestian Empire and the Leicester Alliance. Since attacks could come to our shores at any point, all of us have been training all our lives to make a difference. Why don't you check us out!**

**As their professor, you must lead your students in their academic lives and in turn-based tactical combat… but here's the big question, which House do you plan on choosing? I love our House but it'd be completely wrong of me not to say that the other Houses are equally amazing, definitely wouldn't want you to make the wrong decision, y'know?**

**Annnnd when you eventually realize how much cooler our House is, I have no doubts you'll join us in our quest for peace. I'm sure of it, I can feel your Will of Fire burning brightly too!**

* * *

_**Fire Emblem: Four Houses**_

_**A Naruto x Fire Emblem Crossover**_

* * *

_**Okay, here we go.**_

_**Welcome to what's supposed to be the prologue of a Naruto x Fire Emblem: Three Houses crossover. I've been on this site for years but the hype from the new game + my ridiculous daydreaming got me to just sit down and write and brainstorm, despite the game being not out yet.**_

_**I really wanted to establish three big things here for whatever happens in this story: world building for a brand new house and nation, flesh out Naruto characters that could believably exist in the universe, and the background for what make each of them tick along with the nation. I think I did okay, I'm sure some would disagree though.**_

_**Truth be told, I'm a busy guy and updates if there are any would be sparse. I'd also have to really study up on the campaign, er, campaigns of the game when they come out as each route probably delves into something different and Naruko's involvement would change as well as a result.**_

_**For the time being, this story would probably operate best as a series of one-shots from the life of the Orange Foxes, at least until I can make a commitment to one path or storyline to follow. I do have a general idea of how I want Naruko to develop as a character. I'm not terribly confident in my ability to describe a character's outfit (hence my lack of descriptions for them) but for Naruko, you can imagine that she's got the twintails you'd expect from her character in a hairstyle similar to F!Robin with the lord's outfit and pants. Gotta separate her design from Edelgard some way. Timeskip appearance would also be radically different, but that's for another day. Oh, she's a redhead as well since Dimitri kinda fulfills the blond lord quota.**_

_**Hopefully I didn't make her come off as a Mary Sue. I designed her personality to sort of encompass the boisterousness of Part I Naruto and the focused outlook of Part II Naruto. The girl's got her flaws and a concerningly positive outlook on the good of humanity, something that would be looked into further as the plot gets fleshed out. If you do want a breakdown of her character, think of her as a fusion of Hector and Celica/Robin. She's a spell slinging, sword wielding lady that believes actions speak louder than words but is far more savvy than she lets on and feels the burdens of her position all the time. Hopefully that was evident in my writing of her and the other characters I tried to keep true to their personalities.**_

_**If you want a better idea of how she would develop as a character and further into the timeskip, the best comparison is probably Jaina Proudmoore, who goes from Azeroth's #1 advocate for peace to the coldest bitch in that realm when the people she loved were taken from her. Naruto in the manga practically shoved in your face that if, at any point, Naruto lost the people he loved without any support or friends to fall back on, he'd end up just like Tobi or Pain. Through the power of shonen tropes, he turned out just fine. Fire Emblem is NOT a shonen, however. How broken or resolute Naruko ends up after the timeskip of the game is up in the air based on the good professor, Byleth. From what we've seen, a LOT can change (we still love you and your one eye, Dimitri).**_

_**Pairings? Uhh, I really don't know, pal. I'm just trying to get the exposition out the window for this idea. Literally just got this muse and decided to sit down and write, rather than wait for one of my fav'd stories to update.**_

_**You're probably wondering why this much exposition being provided in just the prologue as well, right? Well truth of the matter is that I'm kinda interested in promoting this concept of a fourth house as a crossover subject. People don't have to use the backgrounds I created (lore is hard, yo), the names (Hinokuni and the Orange Foxes name might need work, sure), or even characters chosen for this fourth house (sorry Shino. You were the odd one out in my attempt to make the gender ratio equal between the Foxes and lords!). My use of the word, confederacy might make some people upset too. Hopefully not.**_

_**I guess you can call this a challenge if you want to, I don't particularly mind if people take artistic liberties in the concept. Not everyone has the same idea of how Naruto/Naruko should act and I respect that difference in opinion but if someone does get inspired to do their own Three Houses fic, I'd be pretty content.**_

_**More than happy to answer any questions brought up in reviews, this is my first fanfic after all and I'm kinda curious what the reception this will be like. Had a lot of fun writing this and throwing in different references and mythology gags everywhere I could. I'll clean up any grammar and spelling mistakes I made with this another day, just want to get this out in time to coincide with the release date of 3H after all.**_

_**Thanks for reading and have a good one!**_


	2. Greetings from the Mainland Part I

_**Disclaimer: See prologue**_

_**EDITS: Moved Hinokuni to the Southeast ocean. From a politicogeographical perspective, it opens for a little more action with the Leicester Alliance in the long run and contextually makes more sense. A nation surrounded by territory comprised by the empire that used to own it would probably encounter a lot more issues than what is feasible to write in or rationalize. Additionally I modified the value of a crest mentioned in the prologue to join the ranks of the now thirteen elite, should be fairly obvious which character/student from the Foxes got upgraded based on her ancestry in the source material.**_

_**Well I wasn't sure what I was going to expect going into this fic but based on the legit reviews I did get, I was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback! It's really nice seeing people following and favoriting this story so I definitely want to make sure I put my best foot forward from here.**_

_**I was able to take some time and get into some pretty intense story related bits from 3H and I gotta say, the game doesn't disappoint from a narrative perspective. My big challenge now is trying to incorporate a fourth power player into this setting without making it feel shoehorned in, I got some really fun ideas though. The prologue was pretty much safe writing for me to set up a background that doesn't step on any other character's toes but if there is critical information I seem to be missing or contradicts something I wrote, please don't hesitate to let me know.**_

_**More notes at the end of this chapter along with an open ended question for anyone interested in this fic as well as a poll. Feels like I've confirmed enough about the tidbits of the game, enough to make me confident to release the next part. From here on out though we'll be starting up Naruko's first interaction with the Three Houses cast, but not quite at the part where we see what impact her little group has on the overall house dynamic. Should be fun!**_

"Speech"

_Exposition/Flashback_

"**Loud"**

_Emphasis_

_**Naruko's Exposition**_

_**Author's Note**_

* * *

**_Greetings from Mainland: Part I_**

_Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a sigh, Looking down at a downtrodden redhead girl, no older than six years old from an outsider's perspective. Wearing a dress an observer might have noted seen better days, the girl was the very picture of a troublemaker at that very moment._

"…_Naruko. Look at me." Said girl stiffened her body and continued to look down in front of the elder in front of her. Hiruzen gently tried again, "Naruko, could you please look at me?"_

_Guilt ate the girl away and she relented after a pause. Her face, the picture of a child aware of the trouble she was in. Her eyes were troublingly red and puffy, it looks like she was still calming down after a fresh wave of crying again…_

"_You know better than to attack other nobles like that. I know there are times we don't agree with what other people might say, but that does not mean we can always resort to violence-"_

"_I know!" Naruko pleaded, mumbling a smaller reaffirmation and looking away. "I know…"_

_Hiruzen looked worryingly at the little girl, of course she knew but these incidents still continued to happen… Retiring to let his sons manage House Sarutobi's activities and taking on a more lax position as a senior advisor in Hinokuni politics had its ups and downs, but nothing was more concerning to the elder than the lack of care directed towards the young crest bearer._

_Naruko's mother hailed from the House of Uzumaki, directly linked to House of Senju as a sister branch and thankfully lived a quiet life outside of the Confederacy's political machinations thanks due to her lack of a crest. With future generations of leaders already present and actively being groomed on the Senju side of their family, she was able to marry freely and found love with Minato, a General of commoner origins but legendary for his successful campaigns defending Hinokuni's coastlines, living modestly for several years. The halcyon days of Kushina Senju-Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze's lives ended the moment it was discovered their daughter possessed the minor crest of Asura of the Thirteen Elites._

_The Heads and elders of Hinokuni wasted no time urging the young family to begin their lives of grooming Naruko for leadership in the capital of Konoha. Knowing it was inevitable, a deal was struck instead to allow Kushina and Minato to raise their child for six years away from the capital in the countryside, where they would prep her themselves and give her the semblance of a normal childhood before her life changed forever._

_It was a small mercy that would never get a chance to come to fruition._

_On the tenth day of the Wyvern Moon, Naruko's first birthday, an assassination was carried out in the small, rural home of the Uzumaki-Senju family. All the memories Kushina and Minato hoped to bestow upon their baby girl were burned along with the cottage they lived in. The soldiers that finally found the family were horrified to see a wailing baby in the arms of two corpses easily identifiable as the retired General Minato and Lady Kushina. While the would-be assassins were thankfully killed, the two parents had given their lives in the process to protect their daughter._

_With no home to return to, the baby Naruko was brought to the capital five years earlier than bargained where she ended up in the custody of Hiruzen, who wasted no time to announce his plan to watch over the girl in the absence of her parents and godfather, away from the other nobles that would undoubtedly use her crest for their own gain. It was the least he could do for her bright young mother and years of service her father put into Hinokuni, years of Hiruzen's political favor finally paying off which lead to young Naruko's current situation._

"_Naruko, if you know not to start incidents, why did you fight Lord Kamoshida's enoturage?"_

"…" _Naruko began mumbling again._

"_Could you please speak up? I promise I'm not angry." Years of raising the girl taught Hiruzen to be patient with issues such as this._

"…_They said bad things about Mama and Papa…" little Naruko finally whispered. Hiruzen let out a sad sigh, the small redhead wasn't completely privy to the concept of death yet, but the one thing that was apparent was that she no longer had a mother or father. There wasn't even any justice for her to take satisfaction over, Hiruzen noted. The assassins didn't leave behind clues who sent the hit. It had been his goal to grant as many happy moments to the child as he could while in the capital but occasionally the bitter truth presented itself far too often. Naruko spoke up after a moment of shuffling. "I still don't understand, gramps… why can't they be here to say something? Did they hate me?"_

"_No! My child, you must understand that everything they did, they did because they loved you." Hiruzen got onto one knee and gently placed his hands on the distraught girl's shoulders in care. This troubling unchildlike conclusion had to be fixed here and now. "You will understand when you are older, I promise, but never forget that your parents loved you more than anything, enough so that they would give you a chance to be happy and find your own path, you must be strong for them though. When you are older, I will tell you the stories of your mother and father's adventures, okay?_

"…_okay." Naruko looked up to her elder with a small smile who gave a relieved smile of his own. "Am I still in trouble?"_

"…_No." The wizened noble noted after a pause. "You must treat this incident as a learning experience, however. A lesson in being strong, not physically but also mentally and emotionally, to make your mother and father proud." The now rebounding girl nodded vigorously, taking her caretaker's words to heart. "Also, we will have to explain to your aunt about the situation that has transpired."_

"_Aww, not Granny!"_

"_Hoho, she is the current Kage, dear girl! She'll inevitably hear about it whether you want her to or not." Hiruzen chuckled as he and his charge walked down the hallway, the irony of little Naruko calling him 'gramps' and her aunt (and his protégé) 'granny' awkwardly not lost on him._

_The girl's story may not have had a happy beginning, but it was entirely possible with her determination to make the rest of her life a better one._

* * *

Chapter 1 – Greetings from the Mainland Part I

* * *

Docking at the town of Gheese had been a pretty straightforward affair. It was one of the designated ports in Hyrm that the Confederacy had agreed to open to trading with the Empire and often served as an unofficial piece of the mainland that Hinokuni had significant influence over. There were few from the Empire that would agree with the assessment of Kunian influence but considering that the Viscounty of Hrym already had a tenuous relationship with Emperor Ionius IX after their coup was quashed in Imperial Year 1167, there was probably more validity to that statement than what was apparent on paper. With House Hyrm's bloodline lost to war, the current Viscount of the region always absent, and the present dissatisfaction under the Empire's brutal regime, it was no wonder that the denizens of the province felt safer with the their Hinokuni neighbors than it did with their Emperor.

Even so, the sizable force of Kunians found themselves interrogated and escorted to the town's fortress by the Empire's soldiers that had been waiting for their arrival, armed with the intention of making sure there wasn't any ulterior motive outside of enrolling into the academy. The Kunian soldiers looked ready to come to blows with their Adrestian counterparts at the callous treatment of their princess but Naruko placated them and assured them nothing would happen.

…At least that's what she promised up until two thieves passed below the bridge she was being escorted over.

Everyone present on the bridge heard the yell of an undistinguishable man below on the canal side to stop the crooks that were beginning to pass underneath. Soldiers began to look amongst themselves to see who would continue the escort and who would pursue as the captain began to get everyone's attention to issue orders. It was imperative that order be restored and everyone's focus was in the right place if things were going to be handled in the most straightforward manner.

Unfortunately for the captain, Naruko did not have such an attention span.

Without any hesitation and to everyone's shock, the human firecracker vaulted over the side the bandits were to arrive from and timed it well enough to land on the one with the stolen goods, beaning him with her boots leading to a satisfactory "thud" that echoed in the canal.

There was a brief pause of gawking from all parties, minus Naruko, before the remaining fearful thief took off a second later in a desperate attempt to get away from the soldiers, only to discover to his growing horror that the crazy girl that decked his associate elected to wildly pursue him with zealous focus.

The chase took them out of the lower canals and onto one of the main streets. Finding himself quickly out of breath and losing ground to the bottomless well of energy that was pursuing him, the thief elected for a different approach, darting for a nearby child and successfully grabbing him away from his now screaming mother.

"S-stop right there! N-not another step closer if '_huff'_ you want this kid to stay in one piece!"

"…Tsk!" Naruko stopped in her tracks at the newly developed predicament with a snarl on her face. The poor child was crying as a knife was held dangerously close his face. Only a day on the mainland and she somehow ended up in a hostage situation.

She wouldn't hear the end of this from Sasuke or anybody, would she.

"T-that's right, that's right! Back off and nobody get hurt. I'll just be taking this kid with me to make sure no one has any funny ideas, ya got that?!" The robber began to cackle as he deemed the situation under his control. "You only have yourself to blame, y'hear ya crazy bitch? Coulda let me go and nobody had to get hurt, some hero you are. Hahaha!"

The newly labeled kidnapper began to back up, the well-dressed parent and child sobbing for one another but helpless as Naruko's mind began to race, contemplating a solution. The growing crowd not helping her thought process as murmurs and shouts of panic flew around. Her eyes narrowed in a combination of annoyance, concentration, and fury as the bandit started ranting again progressively becoming more deranged and confident.

"That's what you get for playing the hero, girlie! Being a hero gets you nothing but pain, you let this happen, y'hear?! That's what you get for sticking yer nose in places they don't belong! You got nothing to stop me with!" spittle now flying from his mouth.

"Yeah, maybe not me. I'm out of answers for this one." Naruko surprisingly concluded to everyone present, right before she smirked, gesturing to the area behind the kidnapper. "But those guards behind you might have something to work with."

"…?!" Ash faced, the man turned around to face the guards, only to see an empty street. Staring in shock, he quickly turned around to scream at the girl, but it was already too late for him.

It only took Naruko two and a half seconds to kick her heel back, dislodging a hidden dagger thrown into the air from the momentum, catch it midair from its brief suspension, and fling it deftly in the motion of a single swing from catch and release.

The bandit let out a howl of pain as the knife lodged itself snugly in the shoulder of the side he was holding the boy, releasing him in pain and shock. As the boy ran away, the redhead wasted no time dashing for the crook and slamming into his head, boots first.

* * *

By the time the Adrestian captain and his soldiers caught up, the suspect was already unconscious and apprehended by the girl they were supposed to be 'escorting', backed by several burly shop owners and sailors that were passing by and eager to help. She was sheepishly surrounded by a cheering crowd and a blubbering mother and child thanking her.

The captain of the guard noted that standard security protocol dictated that individuals who disobeyed figures in authority would be detained for an undisclosed amount of time, but the situation was far from normal when the individual in question was the heir to a rival nation's throne, detaining a kidnapper, and now seen as a local hero to the port town.

What a mess of a write-up.

He was already getting a migraine from the work ahead of him. Still, she did do a great favor for the town. "Ehehe, um… Do you mind if we skip the security check now?" the girl embarrassingly asked.

"…Fine. Why not."

One less thing for him to worry about. This day was already messed up as it was, and it wasn't even noon yet.

* * *

"Well that worked out better than we thought it would!" Naruko chirped from her place in the road.

After the debacle back at harbor and a few harsh words of scolding from her retainer and an amusing exasperation from Sakura who wished for a quiet trip to the Monastery, the group of students and their soldiers were surprised to discover that the guard of the port town elected to drop the 'security check' and opted for a written agreement from Naruko to not invade any Adrestian territory in route to their final destination. Apparently, goodwill went a long way with the citizens of the area who were legitimately impressed by the heroics of the redhead.

In an additional twist of good fortune, it turned out that the rescued child that Naruko saved belonged to family of one of the more influential merchants of the region. Considering that the Viscount was never present to properly govern Hyrm, the Kunian's unintentionally won the favor of the next best individual to help them out. Since a formal ball was out of the question (though an open dinner invitation remained on the table in the future), the merchant opted to use his influence, negotiating the captain of the guard to dedicate a section of his force to escort the group up to the midway point in their journey as a token of gratitude.

Sasuke opted not to say anything snarky about the sheer absurdity of the situation from his place beside his braindead liege at the front of their group, choosing instead to glare straight ahead. Not even a day on the mainland and she already went and got herself involved with a hostage situation, never mind the situation escalated as badly as it did as a result of a certain someone's hero complex. Regardless, they were now more than halfway to the monastery, having said their goodbyes to their Adrestian escorts who bid them a safe journey. No sense getting mad here when he could be scanning for threats and looking out for Sir Kakashi's party to take them the rest of the way. He idly motioned for a soldier in his party to grab a couple of things from their supplies in the back.

"It was a stroke of good luck, Naruko, but must you put yourself in danger so early in our journey?" Hinata, always the voice of reason, softly asked looking at her leader straight ahead as they walked.

"Coincidences aside, you should have left it up to us, more specifically me. I could have taken care of those guys for you and let you take it easy!" Kiba chimed in from nearby.

"It was a split second decision, Kiba." Naruko defended. "Even if I wanted to sic you on them, no one was close enough to react besides those Adrestian guards and they sure as hell weren't reacting quick enough for my liking, y'know?"

"I guess it shouldn't be surprising considering who you are, but maybe one of us should just stick by you in the future just in case." Choji suggested while gently nudging an unmotivated Shikamaru to keep up the pace.

"Even so…" Kiba muttered before suddenly halting. "H-hey guys hold up!" Kiba began looking around sniffing the air, halting the soldiers behind him and allowing them to see the tattoos present on his cheeks.

"What the… do you guys smell something metallic? Almost like iron?"

"Huh? You sure it isn't coming from our group? We're all carrying swords here."

Ino didn't seem too convinced but Sasuke narrowed his eyes while Naruko looked at him, mutally sharing the same concern. Of their group, Kiba spent the most time around blacksmiths and testing swords. Injuries were uncommon but if there were two scents Kiba was familiar with, it was blood and iron.

"I'm serious, there's something funky in the air. It's way different than it had been up until now and I can differentiate what our group's weaponry smells like!"

"That's kinda dog-like, not gonna lie…"

"S-shut up, Sakura! No one asked for your commentary!"

"Enough!" Sasuke snarled, finally understanding what had the Inuzuka noble so worked up. "Naruko, to my left…" Said girl squinted, taking a moment to register what her retainer was referring to with his motioning. It didn't take long to notice the signs of a prior struggle close to where they were marching.

It seemed hastily concealed, but several splotches of blood littered the trees and ground ahead. The scuffling and lines of blood seemed to indicate that whatever corpses previously inhabited the area, they were not only dragged off, but were fresh.

Someone knew they were coming and didn't want them to see the work done prior to their arrival.

Naruko wasted no time. "Defensive formations! All eyes lookout for any surprises!" Like a well-oiled carriage, students and soldiers alike readied their weapons and partnered up, protecting each other's flank points. Captains shouted orders to support their platoons and support each student. A handful armed with shields moved to the front to support the Lady Uzumaki and Lord Uchiha who were on guard and looking ahead, their iron swords unsheathed.

There was a brief pause as shields went up before Sasuke's eyes widened. "**Ambush!**"

An incoming volley of arrows ricocheted off the shields of the guards in front, some getting past and hitting a few behind them with a shout of panic echoing from those hit.

"Archers straight ahead!"

"Bandits coming from the left!"

"Right too!"

"No movement in the rear!"

"They're aiming for the nobles! Provide additional support, go!"

"Hawk company, rotate with the Toad company in the front! Toad company, move towards Slug company in the center! Slug company, prioritize healing those hit by the arrows!"

That last command was said by Shikamaru who began mobilizing the platoons to repel the enemy force attacking from both sides, leaving Naruko and Sasuke's platoons to deal with the archers in the front as they began to press forward. There was a great deal of shouting commands as the students began to clash with the bandits that sought to end their lives, some with more vigor than others.

* * *

Every budding noble and commoner on Hinokuni was enrolled early to begin training as a soldier from the moment they were declared an adult, as such it was mandatory for each of them to carry a sword which they were trained in, befitting a nation of mercenaries that sold their services to the mainland.

While most youths were trained early to carry a blade with adequate proficiency, they had never been trained to _kill_ before. Each student present had a different level of skill displayed as a result of their upbringing, but there was no curriculum present how to deal with taking your first life.

As Kiba slashed a bandit that couldn't handle his assault through his chest, he looked on in mute shock as the bandit fell, quickly covering his nose and gagging.

"U-ugh, t-this is what it smells like? To kill someone?"

Sakura nearby was able to land a solid swipe on the bandit attacking her, slitting his throat. The attacker ended up dying, gurgling up blood the entire way. Sakura nearly collapsed at the sight, now crying in shock.

"What have I done? What have I got myself _into_?!"

Choji wasted no time to bring his axe down on an interloper aiming for a member of his platoon in the back, sending him crashing into the earth and splattering his blood everywhere. Before the soldier could give his thanks, he quickly rushed to provide support for the large student who looked like he was about to faint or heave his lunch.

"I think I'm going to be s-sick, _ohhh_..."

Ino wasn't so lucky enough to kill her opponent in one strike, instead being forced to deliver a mercy kill upon witnessing the struggling man stumble with only one arm. She fell to her knees repeating the mantra her father warned her about in this situation.

"It's either them or me… _I-it's either them or me_!"

As Shikamaru began hyperventilating upon removing his sword from an attacker that got too close to him for comfort he quickly grabbed his chest in an effort to calm down and regain clarity of the situation.

"Dad was right… there really is no way to prepare yourself for your first kill..."

Hinata finally found an opening from her would-be killer's assault and went straight for the jugular as her cousin instructed her to. The sheer brutality of her strike did not prepare her for the blood that sprayed from the dying man's wound and she was quick to erupt into tears at the suddenness.

"I-I'm sorry! I had to do this, _I'm s-so sorry!_"

* * *

"Another volley incoming, shields up!"

Naruko and Sasuke took cover as their front guards negated the assault from the archers attempting to force them to backtrack. With the ranged assault finished, the two nobles pounced on their attackers in a flurry of slashes and strikes a cut above the average fighter's skill level. As the final archer fell to a horizontal slash courtesy of Naruko's blade, the blood from the blow sprayed onto her face, thankfully not in her eyes but enough to make her recoil in shock.

Sasuke stoically pulled his blade out his target and absentmindedly wiped his blade on the archer's clothing.

"Nothing compared to the wounds on father's corpse…" he muttered.

He looked around at the pile of bodies from their assault and spotted Naruko not too far away panting and looking at her slain enemies, eyes shadowed. He walked closer and noted the blood on her face wasn't hers. There was no pleasant way to snap her out of her funk but he'd make an effort to be gentle at least.

"Hey. You good?"

Naruko registered her retainer speak amidst her freeze and took a moment to regain a bit more air and glance over at him, still panting but now talking.

"It's nothing."

It most certainly was _something_ based on her reaction. Sasuke mutely noted that the blood present on the Uzumaki's face in combination with the sharp look in her eyes and crimson hair did wonders to make her appear much more intimidating than usual. She began steeling herself as their platoons began to rejoin them. Breathing beginning to even out and regaining the focus in her eyes, she regarded the Uchiha for another moment before walking out of the woods and towards the field where the bandit leader was most likely stationed.

"I can mourn later. Keep moving forward." Naruko said with an edge in her voice. Was that a message for him... or her? "There's obviously a leader directing the movement here. We take them out, we halt the bloodshed."

It was clear to a lot of people in their group that the next Kage was an emotional individual, she wore her heart on her sleeve and was quick to display how she felt. Sasuke knew this better than anyone but it was clear that when the mantle of leadership was finally thrown into Naruko's lap, she felt the need to put up a strong front, more than ever before. There were opponents both were aware of among the nobles of Hinokuni to Naruko's plans but showing weakness in front of them was undeniably something they wished to avoid. Bottling up her feelings was bound to have an effect in the future but it was an issue he was unprepared to resolve alone. The raven-haired noble would have to ponder this development later.

His liege was clearly getting more intricate with her personality masks but for the time being, she was right. The leader of the bandits needed to be eliminated and judging by the lone farmhouse ahead, their prey wasn't too far away.

* * *

"Well, well, well! Looks like the islander and her dogs managed to get passed our men!"

Larrick the Be-header considered himself a relatively simple fellow following a simple trade with his associates. Dirty killing was a practice not necessarily looked upon favorably by the masses but when he and his men struggled to find work among the towns that elected to frown upon their various… _quirks_, he saw an opportunity to band together the unwanted and simply take what was rightfully theirs.

So what if the Ravager clans he managed were composed of criminals and supposed scum of the public? They were a little more in tune with their passions, society be damned! Nobles have too much wealth for their own good anyways, so why not do a bit of redistributing? As far as he was concerned, these Kunians might as well get acquainted with how things go around here. Shame the there was no option to capture them, some of the female soldiers and the redhead they accompanied were lookers…

"Bit far from home aren't ya? You sure it's a good idea to come here when our boys might be slaughtering your group?"

It was a decent bluff, Naruko noted. Might've actually rattled her had a messenger not updated her on the solid defense Shikamaru put into practice, halting the assault and pushing back against their unsuccessful murderers. Instead she elected to address the bandit leader chortling with his men as she and Sasuke approached with their own troops, the sun ominously red as it began to set in the horizon.

"So you're the orchestrator of this little greeting, huh? Not exactly the flowers and gift baskets I was expecting but my comrades and I can make do with this I suppose." The Uzumaki idly wondered if all bandits were as ugly as the one she was currently approaching or if that was just a stereotype. She really didn't want to believe all bandits looked this hideous but this guy wasn't doing her imagination any favors…

"Oh, that's quite a tongue on ya, lass. Honestly wasn't expecting you to get this far but they did warn me those church goons we cut up might give us away. So much for assassinating you lot under your noses…" So there _was_ a scouting party sent by the Monastery searching for them. Damn it all, what the hell was going on here?

"Assassination you say." Sasuke muttered from next to Naruko catching everyone's attention. "So your goal was a bit higher-browed than the run of the mill raids than you lot are known for. Something far more meddling than you trash would bother investing yourselves with." The casual tone Sasuke spoke with caused the bandits to bristle with rage but the stoic swordsman continued his assessment anyways.

"Ignoring caravans, aiming for students of the Academy specifically. Nothing about your pathetic actions make any logical sense here, which begs the question..." The highwaymen looked ready to maul them before the Uchiha's comment made them stop as he glared at them with a critical eye. "Who is your employer?"

There was a pregnant pause at the question as both groups contemplated the facts presented. The quiet was disrupted as the bandit leader began roaring with laughing.

"Heh heh heh. Hahahahaha! Look at you playing detective, pretty boy! Quite a bold claim to make there. But who said anything about someone buying our, uh, _services_?" Larrick wiped a couple tears from his eyes and motioned his men to ready their weapons.

"Look, no offense gents, but you all _really_ don't look like the type to critically think beyond where to eat, sleep, and shit next." Naruko snarked and tried to diffuse the situation at their growing anger. "Tell us who hired you to take us out and we can all be on our way, this attack is practically over and I'm sure you all have very busy schedules, sooo…"

"Pah! Forget about the assault, what really matters is claiming the bounty of you and the pretty boy, everything else can go to hell. Chop their heads off, boys! The ones to bring me their corpses gets a bonus of the gold!" The brutes raised their weapons in a roar of agreement and began moving in to clash with the opposition.

"Ah. Negotiations failed, Sasuke."

"So it seems. You insulting their intelligence might've had something to do with that."

"You kidding? You're the one who called them trash and pathetic, who's the real aggressor here?!"

"If my memory serves right, they began charging after _your_ comment. Truly your diplomacy needs work."

"How 'bout you take your diplomacy and shove it up your ass, you ass!"

"U-uh my lady, my lord. The enemy is upon us." A soldier exasperatedly interrupted their bickering to alert them of the approaching bandits. Naruko and Sasuke looked up and recomposed themselves immediately as Naruko raised her sword towards the enemy force.

"Suppress their attacks, pick apart their weak points!"

The two forces met in a clash of iron and while every bandit gunned for one of the two nobles, it also led to a lot of accidental collision on their side, something the Kunian forces were more than happy to take advantage of. There was a clear difference in training and objectives present as the fight drew out. Most of the thugs attacking were motivated to prioritize royalty, the soldiers present on the other had the advantage of prioritizing anybody that got close to their leaders.

Naruko and Sasuke meanwhile paired up and worked together seamlessly to take down the assaulters after their throats. Each blocked hit from one of them was followed up by a slash from the other. Years of training and understanding each other's styles were displayed at that moment as the modest showing of technique and teamwork succeeded at preventing any openings from being discovered. There were no weak spots to exploit due to lack of skill from their opponent's side. The number of attackers began to dwindle in the midst of their team up, eventually reducing to zero thanks to the combined efforts of the duo and the soldiers that were never the focus of the assault. After a moment of letting their gaze focus on the corpses from their skirmish, they turned their attention to the fuming leader next. A still rattled Naruko, quickly losing her patience with the situation and blood on her hands, finally issued an ultimatum.

"Like I said, captain dipshit, assault's over! I'm giving you one last chance to leave and turn a new leaf. You keep this up, I can't promise whatever happens next is going to be pretty for you!"

Larrick looked ready to blow at the development as he and his guards prepped for their fight.

"There you go again with your bleeding heart, moron. Does he look like the kind of fool to throw down his weapon and actually do something with his life after what just happened? Not to mention he's probably the type that doesn't deserve mercy."

"If I have the opportunity to prevent a fight, I'm going to take it, Sasuke! Can we not do this right now?"

"I'm just saying you shouldn't aim for such lofty hopes."

"…The Ravager clans of East Fódlan… destroyed by a bunch of damn island bumpkins…" The bandit leader began muttering, grinding his teeth in rage at the mocking display in front of him. "Screw the reward, and screw that damn reaper. I'll kill both of you with my bare hands!"

Wait, reaper? Naruko and Sasuke blinked and looked at each other.

"Hold it! What's that about a reaper? Was that your client?" The deranged barbarian let out a cruel laugh as his guards slowly approached following the redhead's question.

"You wanna find out so badly who paid us off then, to meet the bastard?! Why don't you beat the answers out of us, girlie?"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

A new, sinister voice spoke from behind the abandoned barn they were fighting nearby. All fighting preparations were halted as the new player made his appearance. Clanking noises alerted everyone present as the new player began slowly walking from behind the structure, revealing himself to be a terrifying entity garbed in black armor and accompanied by an equally black horse. He began making his way towards the two groups, walking from behind the bandit group but eyeing Naruko and Sasuke as though they were finest cuts of meat it'd ever seen, scythe in hand.

"Y-you! You were here the entire time?! Why didn't you help us!"

The revenant paused at the interruption, breaking his gaze from the two nobles to address the sweating raider.

"At ease, worm. I wished to see for myself how these new… rabbits fared against the common rabble in the face of a challenge. I've seen enough, I will take my turn to personally snuff their flames."

Well that was a blatant declaration of intent to harm. Sasuke and Naruko paired up once again and readied themselves for a fight against the bandit squad and their nightmarish client as their platoons likewise went into defensive formation.

"W-well fine then, but I still expect to get paid for this!" Larrick announced as the knight finally approached the other thugs on foot. There was a clear bit of posturing present from the nervous man but no one seemed to buy his bravado for a second.

"You seem to misunderstand, there is no reason for you to remain present on a battlefield suited for warriors. I intend to fight them. Alone." The new player rasped out from behind the group, raising his scythe ominously.

"Your services have... concluded."

"Wha-"

Whatever the head bandit was going to say was brutally cut off as the ominous knight beheaded the main source of the Orange Foxes' welcome party, blood spraying unceremoniously over the battlefield, caking it in an ominous new color. No one seemed particularly fine with the events that just transpired.

"B-boss!"

"Why you!"

Larrick's guards attempted to avenge their leader but were likewise cut down in equally savage and effortless manners. All bandits outside the forest were now accounted for as the remaining two mangled bodies slumped lifelessly to the floor, to the horror of the remaining soldiers and two nobles present. Glowing red eyes returned to gaze at the Uzumaki and Uchiha crest bearers, the rising moon serving to illuminate the battlefield in a foreboding glow.

"Ah shit." Muttered Naruko, aptly summing up how everyone present felt.

* * *

_**Well I promised we'd see interaction with characters from the main game but I have to imagine not many expected to see a conflict with this guy so early on in the story, hm? What the heck prompted his presence anyways? Sorry for the cliffhanger. This was an arc that required a separation before it ran on forever.**_

_**Okay, time for an open-ended question for anyone observing this story before I continue my notes. Male or female Naruto? I made the conscious decision early on to have our protagonist be the gender bent Naruko for the sake of having an even ratio of male and female lords as well as House members. I don't particularly regret this decision, but I do acknowledge that many people simply don't enjoy reading about female versions of male characters. Most of the story told so far is pretty easy to edit on my end in regard to this change but I wanted to ask if people enjoy reading about this version of Naruko or if they have a stronger preference to read about good ol' Naruto instead serving as the third male lord. His personality would pretty much stay the same along with his hair color, but some interactions would obviously change. Just wanted to address this now before getting further as it would be an easier time to fix, I'm working on putting up a poll but feel free to give me some feedback in the reviews.**_

_**I have a ton of ideas now of the various conflicts and characters I can weave into the story that make use of what I know now of the various paths you can take in the game as well as an endgame for how this story is meant to conclude now. With the beginning complete and an end now decided upon, I just need to finish up making the story of how to reach the finale. So yeah, for the time being have some standard heroics, unforeseen conflicts, and early first blood trauma to set the stage on the Orange Foxes' story, all before reaching the Monastery. Everything happening here is occurring for a reason but no worries, I'm sure the Death Knight won't immediately maul them. Maybe.**_

_**Pairings are also undecided at the moment. While I do have some ideas, feel free to drop me some suggestions if you want. Romance isn't really going to be a focal point of this story and wouldn't occur towards the end of the story, similar to the game it's based off on. I do understand this will inevitably a be a struggle to find which pairings will appease everyone but like I said, it's not going to be a huge focal point.**_

_**Once again, I wanted to thank everyone who took time to follow, favorite, or review this little story. I don't expect it to pick up as much traction as some of the other crossovers in this corner of the site, but the support has been wonderful thus far and I'll do my part to keep this little writing exercise of mine chugging along.**_

_**See you all next time!**_


	3. Greetings from the Mainland Part II

_**Disclaimer: See prologue**_

_**EDITS: Changed the name of the port at the beginning of last chapter to a different one due to the similarity with the Kingdom. Additionally, switched around the label of godfather to grandpa and Sarutobi's label to 'gramps'. Can't recall a godfather ever existing in FE leading me to believe the idea for that type of thing doesn't exist quite yet.**_

_**If my eyes don't deceive me, I think this story picked up a bit more attention since the prologue which is pretty nice. Feedback has been overall positive and it looks people have been receptive to Naruko as the lead over Naruto. As some people in the reviews have started doing, feel free to ask me about any decisions I'm making in the story as it's fun to explain the development process behind some of the stuff going into the story. Hopefully I can keep up the pacing for everyone to enjoy!**_

_**This took a bit of time to write but to make it up, the next chapter will be up in the next couple of days. There were several things I wanted to account for but squeezing it all into one chapter proved to be cumbersome. More details in the ending notes.**_

"Speech"

_Exposition/Flashback_

"**Loud"**

_Emphasis_

_**Naruko's Exposition**_

_**Author's Note**_

* * *

_**Greetings from the Mainland: Part II**_

_Iruka Umino's first interaction with Naruko Senju-Uzumaki was a shocking one, to say the least. He had been brought onboard as a personal tutor for the young girl by the elder Hiruzen Sarutobi who confessed the crest bearer required a special kind of teacher that could bond with his charge and win her trust. What the former Sarutobi Head meant by that the young scholar was not quite sure, but it couldn't be that bad. There were plenty of nobles in the capital that received his lessons but attitude adjustments were rare due to the militaristic culture the Confederacy promoted. So he'd have to correct the behavior of a pampered girl, no big deal. He did that all the time for other kids._

_Whatever he prepared himself to do with the girl was promptly thrown out the window upon meeting the girl. He offered a friendly handshake in greeting with the eight-year-old, who took a good five seconds to stare and scowl at the offered hand before asking him a question he wasn't expecting her to bring up._

"_So when's the part you teach me to get used to being exploited for my crest, huh?"_

_Before the girl could get an earful from her guardian, Naruko promptly bolted in her sandals to the streets below while he could only stare in shock at the callous assessment. The scarred instructor was aware from reports that the young maelstrom was quite rebellious and a known troublemaker but this was far more concerning than he realized. He was starting to get a better idea where the behavior stemmed from._

_The report also mentioned she was incredibly unwilling to interact with what remained of her household as well. He wondered… did she-_

"_So… what do you think, Sir Iruka?" Elder Sarutobi asked, sighing at the direction the Uzumaki girl took off. _

"_Oh er... It's ah, quite the chip she has on her shoulder. I can see what you mean when you asked me to be prepared..." Iruka hesitantly offered with an uncomfortable laugh._

"_She's normally such a cheerful child when her future or past isn't brought up. I suppose even a glimmer of exposure to our Court might cause a child to react as poorly as she does."_

_So, she was already familiar with the predatory nature nobles of Hinokuni and Fódlan as a whole had for crest bearers? Gods, what a sad mindset to have at that age. And based on her history of playing pranks…_

"_If… it is fine with you, I'd like to stay and assist with her development."_

"_Oh? Did something resonate about her with you?"_

"_Let's just say I'm no stranger to kids grasping for any kind of attention… good or bad."_

_Hiruzen seemed pleased with that answer and gave a small hum of approval. "As it stands, little Naruko seems to believe that society as a whole only sees her as the bearer of the minor crest of Asura. Alone, waiting to be exploited." He rumbled. "Your biggest priority will most likely have to be breaking down her barriers and showing her there are others that will see her for the girl that she is."_

_The elder circled around with his pipe, idly taking puffs before eyeing him critically, "There was a reason I cited your experience as the biggest factor when I brought you on board, can you manage to do this? Help my surrogate granddaughter understand the value of her own life?" Iruka stood straighter, unconsciously taking a gulp._

"_Absolutely!"_

_Which led to the instructor's current situation a week later, sitting at a pretty table with his new student who took in their surroundings with an air of trepidation._

"_I don't get it, Iruka sensei… You plan on winning me over with what, tea?"_

"_Heh, it looks like I'm trying to let your guard down with a pleasant tea session, right?"_

"_Well, yeah I guess y'know… but-" Whatever plan of escape Naruko had planned was immediately interrupted by a now booming Iruka._

"**_But_**_! You guessed wrong you over-suspicious runt!"_

"_R-runt?! Oi! I'm still in my growing phase you jerk!"_

"_Until you do, you're still a runt to me and everyone else!"_

_Naruko looked ready to heatedly argue further before a hand came up to halt her argument and bring up a plate of confections. "It's my understanding that you won't open up to anyone, not even your peers. This won't do if your goal is to get everyone to look at you beyond how you think everyone perceives your status." Iruka took a moment to prep a teapot with hot water before continuing to the blinking crest bearer. "Your physical training seems to be going well but what I was thinking was rather than diving into academic lessons immediately, we could work on something a little more interesting with etiquette!"_

_Naruko scrunched her nose in confusion. "So teatime? How the heck is that gonna help? Sitting around and sipping tea seems boring if you ask me."_

"_Hmph, only if you let it be. Let me ask you this, why do you think we have tea parties, Naruko?"_

"_Um, to be fancy with other nobles?"_

"_Not even close! It gives you the opportunity to bond with other people in our culture and elsewhere, did you notice since we began sitting here watching me prepare things, you've been chatting with me longer than you ever have this past week?"_

_The little redhead blinked. It was true, she completely forgot about giving him the slip this time around and was content watching him prep the tea similar how she observed her gramps in the past. Finishing up with his preparation, Iruka spoke again with a smile at his current success._

"_Sometimes a great tea session with someone you want to know better is one of the best ways to get to truly know someone. Rather than pulling pranks on your peers, you could take what you learn here and get to know your peers a bit better, you don't even have to be super formal or stiff about it!"_

_The revelation was a bit surprising to Naruko who, up until that point, had been adamant that everyone saw her crest first like some of the other kids she had seen with the same issue. She was absolutely sure this teacher was also out to win favor as well but the jabs and lesson she was tricked into having caused her to have doubts._

"_So, you wanted the first lesson to be something that helps… get people to acknowledge who I am?"_

"_Heh, you figured out the first reason why I wanted this to be our starting course. You gotta be able to make the initial step and find a way to let people know who you are." Iruka mentioned with a smile. "The second reason is pretty simple, I want to get to know more about Naruko Uzumaki."_

_It took a few moments for little Naruko to understand the full impact behind his words but when the realization struck her, she was elated. The girl finally understood that there were good people in this world after all that she could open up to, Iruka would later surmise upon reflection afterwards._

"_Umm, then… Could we start over again?" The redhead sheepishly asked with an embarrassed blush, confusing Iruka as she held out her hand._

"_Huh?" It took a moment for Iruka understand what the gesture was for before grinning in realization. He reached and shook her hand in greeting as he had done a week ago._

"_Iruka Umino. I look forward to learning more about you."_

"_Naruko Uzumaki. I, uh, will be in your care, y'know!"_

_They talked for hours afterwards with the promise they would continue talking more after this session another day. Iruka realized in the time he spent talking to his new student that she had quite the sunny disposition when she opened up. While she wasn't particularly interested in scholarly pursuits, she was exceptionally driven and far savvier than she let on. She had a spark, that much was evident._

_It was a start and a foundation the scarred instructor could work with to mold her into a better individual. Why did he care so much, he wondered. Was it the lonely background or the desire to stand out that resonated with him? He supposed it didn't matter at that point, Iruka was committed and he didn't want to break Naruko's trust. There were aspects that were definitely rough around the edges but before he knew it, he was drawn into helping the girl become the best version of herself._

_She had legitimate potential, why not draw it out?_

* * *

The knight of death continued to eye Naruko and Sasuke from his place beside the bodies of the fallen bandits, opting to continue passively observing the expressions of his designated targets.

"…You have earned a modicum of my interest with your performances." The figure offered with a dark reverberation. "Deducing where the attacks were coming from and retaliating against this horde… speaks volume of your potential." He eyed the forest where the rest of their comrades most likely were still fighting, maybe dying. "If your actions here are shared in intensity by your fellow classmates, I suspect you could have eventually stand to rival the other houses as proper opponents." He remarked wistfully.

Was he… complimenting them? Naruko wasn't sure if he should even be entertaining a guy speaking as though she was already dead and by the look of things, Sasuke wasn't sure himself. There was nothing pleasant about this encounter but for sake of prolonging the peace before conflict, the redhead decided she'd at least play along if only to buy some time.

"Well what can I say, we Kunians are all stubborn and full of surprises, y'know?" The magic swordswoman offered lamely. Shit, that was her response to this guy? What the hell, that was terrible! Damn it, there had better be a class at the Academy specializing in banter and one-liners if she and the others made it out of this. She had better retorts than that crappy response and she knew it!

"…Indeed." The dark figure droned. If this enigma was amused, he was doing a great job not showing it. The descendant of Asura idly wondered if he could sense her embarrassment after mentally berating herself. "It truly is a pity, neither of you will ever reach the full capacity of your capabilities nor will you be able to provide a proper challenge for me to relish." The large figure readied his equally large scythe in preparation for the clash ahead after his announcement. "Your lives are over."

"Hold it, hold it! Hear me out then!" Naruko bargained next to an annoyed Sasuke. "If you're so eager for a proper opponent, hunt, feast, whatever, why not let us go and give you a proper challenge after we get stronger, huh?" Sasuke was unamused by his friend's antics to say the least but elected to stay quiet and see how things played out.

"An amusing proposition, tempting as well." Retorted the knight with a sinister chuckle. Naruko got excited. "But I stand by my words. Your lives are mine to reap and the fire of your potential shall be stamped out of existence tonight."

Well so much for the 'offering a challenge' gambit, Sasuke thought. Naruko similarly lost her bravado. To make matters worse, reinforcements had just arrived from behind the party. The problem was that they weren't hers.

"The hell? What happened to the boss?!"

"H-hey, isn't that the guy who hired us?"

"The targets are still alive, kill 'em!"

A decent number of bandits stumbled onto the scene coming from the forest. If Sasuke and Naruko had to suspect, it was part of a pincer strategy set up beforehand should the engagement take too long. Seeing no other option, the Uzumaki grit her teeth in frustration.

"All units, fall back and keep those reinforcements from reaching us!"

"But ma'am, we can't leave you and Lord Sasuke to fight this man alone!"

"We can't stumble over each other to fight this guy. He's definitely a cut above the rest, and we can't afford to have those reinforcements interfere with this engagement!"

The soldiers stationed around a tense Naruko and Sasuke looked among each other trying to find a reason to disobey their superior's orders. This monster was someone they couldn't afford to make any mistakes around.

"The girl is right." uttered their enigmatic adversary. "The corpses you see before should serve as a warning not to interfere in this dance. You will all get your turn soon enough, I assure you."

"That's not happening, y'hear?" Naruko shot back, practically snarling in defiance. "The men and women you see before you won't take part in this, your opponent is me! All units! Do not, I repeat, do not interfere unless you are absolutely certain you have a clear shot to take him down if I can't!" Naruko took a low combat stance she had rehearsed for many years with training. Both hands on her sword, holding the blade near her head, parallel to the earth, and aiming directly at her target. It was the stance favored by the myrmidon and sword-masters of legend from what she had been told. Her opponent had a weapon she was unfamiliar with fighting against but if she could at the very least see his patterns, she would be able to find an opening. If all else failed, she did have a secret weapon she had been brainstorming about using during their standoff.

"You plan on taking this guy on alone? Don't be so conceited, you're better than that." Sasuke stated, walking up next to her and assuming a combat stance of his own she was familiar with. "I don't plan on going down today, nor am I letting you do anything by yourself, lest you make an embarrassment out of the Confederacy.

It hadn't been her intention to leave him out of the fight, but she was glad to have his support here and now when it counted most, even if he acted like an ass to show it.

"Heh, thanks you bastard. Let's make this poser work for his fight, yeah?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Try to keep up with me."

"That's my line!"

Around them, the soldiers relented and agreed not to interfere with rally cries of their own.

"You got this Lady Naruko!"

"Flames guide you, Lord Sasuke!"

"Hold strong!" "We're at your call!" "Don't let this guy trip you up!"

"**Long live the Confederacy!**"

As the soldiers began rallying together to engage the remaining bandits and the Lords they served readied themselves to face him despite being heavily outclassed, the black knight serving as their opponent couldn't help but cackle at the display, more amused by their bravado than dismissive. "Yes, yes… Such spirit! I will enjoy crushing it and watching the dread spread among your allies as you are all flayed one by one!" There was more enjoyment watching an opponent fall into despair after all.

Deciding that the banter was over, the crest bearing Uzumaki broke the preparations with a battle cry, alerting her partner to start their fight.

"Let's go, Sasuke!"

"Follow my lead, Naruko!"

"Heh heh, let us begin. Writhe for me, children of the flames!"

A clang of metal echoed across the battlefield as the inheritors of the main houses of Hinokuni clashed with their supposed reaper.

* * *

Shikamaru took a moment to wipe the grime off his face as he took note of the situation in the forest. For all the shock and peril the ambush had caused, the battles ended up far more forgiving to the Orange Fox strike force. No one was dead yet and those that were injured were receiving medical attention. Was this the difference between a proper army and a band of ravagers, or was it more evident that the strategies his father passed down to him had merit?

"Another wave incoming! Shika, we need to back up Sakura's team!" Choji brought him back onto the ground with that proclamation. That's right, they weren't out of the woods yet. He had hoped to wrap this up sooner and rendezvous with his House leader but there felt like no end to these raiders. He wasn't even taking into account how many of the lesser trained students were starting to tire.

"Dammit, there's no end to this! Did these guys really want us taken out this badly?" Kiba snarled nearby, partnering up with Ino as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"I guess it really was a good thing we had our own soldiers to escort us the entire way there. There's no way this would have ended well if we didn't have these guys to support us!" Ino exclaimed thankfully to the soldiers that were picking up the slack for students that weren't quite combat ready.

"Not a problem, missy! It's a shame that Garreg Mach won't let us stay and continue protecting you lot. After we get there." A Kunian platoon captain replied good naturedly next to Kiba before continuing his surveillance. "The situation is pretty strange though, we don't typically see this level of strategy from bandits."

It was true. The attacking coordination displayed from the run-of-the-mill bandits they faced so far was far more meticulous than what their kind was known for. Shikamaru suspected that his leaders would pick up on the peculiar behavior as well but for the time being, the priority was to keep as many people alive here and now.

Some groups were slightly isolated from fighting which they needed to fix. In the end, Sakura was the only one able to reach the outermost group but considering her current level, it was assured she couldn't hold off everyone on her own.

He could take comfort in knowing their current opponents weren't all that strong.

* * *

Thirty seconds.

It only took Naruko and Sasuke's adversary thirty seconds to not only repel their coordinated offensive assault but swat them away, pushing them back when he began to retaliate.

Whoever this guy was, there was no question he was one of the strongest fighters the Uzumaki had ever encountered. Soldiers close by offered support and chimed in to send them in to fight, but the dark figure's skill level was unquestionable. They would be mercilessly cut down without hesitation if she sent them in, the redhead couldn't bear to have that unnecessary blood on her hands nor conscious.

"Pathetic. Is this truly the extent truly the extent of your capabilities? I had hoped you both would give me a proper showing before I silenced you for eternity." announced the masked individual with annoyance present in his warped voice, any enjoyment from their previous banter rapidly deteriorating.

Nearby, Naruko could practically feel Sasuke rolling his eyes at the insult as she caught her bearings on one knee. "Don't blame us, buddy. You're the one picking a fight with teenaged students! If you were looking for a proper fight, you could have gone elsewhere!" The next in line for the Kunian throne shot back. "We still have some fight left!"

Despite the proclamation, the situation was bleak on all accounts. There was too great of a gap in skill level to properly contest a fight with this guy. Another engagement could prove fatal.

"Every word out of your mouth is refuse at this point. You and your companions are nothing but talk in your current state. This excursion ended up being a larger waste of my time then I had hoped. It is time to end this." Naruko knew that the dark knight could back up that threat, it was time to change up plans. She could only hope Sasuke wouldn't hold what she was about to attempt against her until everything played out.

"Alright then, if you plan on going all out, it's time to unleash my secret strategy!" The redhead declared. At that moment, the girl's hand was engulfed in flames with the telltale signs a fire spell was about to be cast. Nearby Sasuke uncharacteristically, to everyone present sans Naruko, balked.

"You moron, what do you think you're doing?!" Sasuke hissed with trepidation. "Your control with magic isn't perfect yet. You're liable to overload the spell and cause that thing to explode in our faces if that knight breaks your concentration!" Soldiers did note the heat currently radiating off the girl was quite intense, was this actually just a basic fire spell?

"If you truly believe a paltry fire spell will be enough to stop me, by all means give it your best shot." Offered the knight mentioned by the Uchiha. Naruko smirked with bravado at his perceived interest.

"You hear that Sasuke? Sounds like this guy wants a chance to experience some of my magic mastery for himself. It's time to get dangerous!"

"What mastery?" Sasuke grumbled to himself. "All you have is that ridiculous level of reserve, and all you can do with it is make your basic spells too large for your own good…"

"I hope your ready, pal." Shouted Naruko, electing to ignore her retainer. "From here on out, my counterattack and true strategy is about to commence!" with the declaration now present for their opponent to absorb, the magically inclined swordswoman in training theatrically slung her fire spell in the form of a fireball **much** larger than the average incantation, evident by the heat wafting off the projectile causing the nearby soldiers to sweat.

"Choke on this!" the magically inclined Kage-to-be roared with defiance.

The blast pyrokinetic energy soared towards the direction of the reaper after them… where it safely traveled over his head and impacted the barn the band of raiders were using.

The flammable building proceeded to explode in a rather spectacular pillar of flames that some suspected could be viewed from the Monastery.

All witnesses of the spell, including the designated target, took a moment to observe the concerningly large blaze with squinted eyes before mechanically turning towards the original caster who remained stone-faced, stuck in the position she finished casting her spell in.

"This is all a part of the strategy." She finally managed to ground out.

The difficulty in her articulation made several question the sincerity of the statement.

* * *

For all the peril and dread her first kill brought, there was a part of Sakura that uncomfortably observed how the following kills she made were much easier. She found herself looking over a group of miscellaneous students of various backgrounds that were to join her in the Orange Foxes, though none of them were truly a part of Naruko's inner circle like her. The pinkette had insisted that her role should be minimal in the House but Naruko and Ino both vouched for her status.

"_**Forget about whether or not you're nobility or if you have a crest! You're not a nobody, you're Sakura Haruno and you definitely deserve to be here. You'll see what we all see in you soon enough, I promise!**_"

Really, her association with Naruko and Ino was meeting them at the preliminary magic academy where they all studied magic theory, but apparently they liked her beyond her smarts and grades. The commoner must have made an impression on them as they became fast friends and helped her become much more confident in herself, eanrning her recommendation to the academy based on academic intuition alone. Moments like this though… she realized there was still so much for her to learn.

No textbook could have prepared her for the horrors of taking a life but she and her fellow students couldn't roll over and die, not like this.

"They're tiring out! It's now or never, we need to end this!" Shikamaru announced from nearby in an attempt to rally the other students near her. Sakura positioned herself in the frontlines along with the other soldiers and students that were more combat savvy, reinforcements not too far away. Being friends with a fighting freak like Naruko did have some benefit after all, she mused.

Block. Jab. Mind your surroundings. Never overextend. Fall back into a proper stance. The pinkette found herself mentally reciting her training manual in an attempt to stay focused and not slip up, but she was getting tired.

"If I make it through this, I promise not to slack on physical conditioning ever again." She mumbled, panting and shakily raising her worn down blade against another raider that eyed her. There might have been a concerned shout or two telling her to fall back, she couldn't tell or process it right now. Too tired to think about other things. Just a little bit longer. Naruko and Lord Sasuke in all his dashing glory will come and sort this out, Sakura assured herself as she prepared to clash once more.

The blow never came.

Instead of the now familiar weight of an axe coming down on her bloodstained sword, her attacker received an arrow through his neck for his troubles and collapsed unceremoniously. Sakura could only blink in surprise as similar arrows ripped through the air from different areas in the forest including the direction of the first one, striking their targets with lethal precision. There was a great deal of shouting, but none of her allies were getting injured. Rather, the bandits appeared to be the target as armored men began to march in and swiftly deal with the remaining attackers, killing those that they could reach or driving away the rest, making swift pursuit.

"Hmm. I suspected the situation must be pretty bad if the Kunian delegation and scouts we sent out were taking this long taking this long to make it to the Monastery, but I suppose it was a good thing we decided to investigate what was causing the holdup."

A scarred man clad in flexible leather armor wielding a simple steel bow walked towards her party, scanning the area alongside several armed men bearing markings that indicated their allegiance to the Church of Seiros. The archer's overall demeanor was laidback but there was an underlying sense that he had the reflexes to strike at any moment. His choice of clothing was a bit odd, with a dress shirt underneath his armor and a mask covering up half of his face up to the eyes. He turned to sheepishly address Sakura and her cohorts who were too exhausted to properly emote.

"Sorry we're late! It looks like we got lost on the path of life."

Sakura could only blink incredulously in exhaustion, the weight of her battles finally catching up to her.

"Y-you're a bad liar." She muttered.

* * *

Similar cases of salvation began popping up across the battlefield for those still in combat as Shikamaru and Hinata, who had her rendezvous with the tactician not too long ago, were able to notice the telltale signs that their backup was none other than the forces of the Knights of Seiros thanks to their insignia. There were signs both factions were to tire out but the reinforcements supplied by the church pretty much put to rest who was walking out of this engagement alive and who wasn't.

Soon enough, the fighting began to move away from the students of the Orange Foxes as the superior arms and men of the Church drove the raiders further and further away. Shikamaru blinked wearily at Hinata, silently asking for her confirmation if the situation was finally over which she confirmed with a tired smile of her own.

The two of them finally found the opportunity to unwind and reflect what just happened, basking in the mutual agreement for silence.

"Hey."

"**Hyaa?!**" "**H-huh?!**"

Suddenly jolted from their thoughts by an unfamiliar female voice, both turned around and realized they were being addressed by one of the soldiers that came to relieve them of the fight, a mercenary sniper with dark hair and violet eyes by the looks of things. If she was amused by their unprofessional squawks, she certainly didn't show it as she stared them aloofly.

"Um, yes. H-hello?" Hinata offered weakly, unsure of how to address the stoic individual. "Thank you for ah, coming to our aid."

"No problem. Get ready to move." The woman remarked succinctly before gesturing behind her quickly. "Position's still not secure. We need to get you all to the Monastery."

"A-ah a moment, please! May we ask if you know what's going on right now?" Hinata hurriedly asked before the mysterious lady could walk off. Said archer turned around once more, Shikamaru noted once again that if she was annoyed by something, she was excellent at not sharing her thoughts. Then again, she did have one eyebrow raised in what he assumed was a nonverbal 'are you kidding me'.

"Now, now, Shamir. It's only fair these kids get an explanation of what we know so far." A new voice joined in from not too far away as a white-haired man joined in the conversation, bringing along the rest of the students, including Sakura's besieged party into the fold. "It's not every day an ordinary trek to Garreg Mach turns into a fight for your life."

"You and I both know this type of conversation isn't reserved for a battlefield, Kakashi." The woman, Shamir, chastised her masked companion. The now dubbed Kakashi took the barb in stride. The names were familiar to several Kunians though who lit up in realization of the individuals they were working with.

"Fair enough, I'd say this battle is pretty much over though, wouldn't you agree?" Kakashi analyzed, lazily eying their surroundings as well as the areas they had originally entered the fight from. "The angles we approached the enemy indicate that there's only one foreseeable entrance they could attack from now, and we're currently chasing them out from that way. Straight into you-know-who's path." Shamir grunted in reluctant agreement, letting him continue his discussion with the students. Kakashi gave what appeared to be an eye-smile to the watching students.

"Now then, is everyone still in one piece? We have a little time, but I can answer any questions about what we know so far. Don't be shy!" Sakura raised her hand from the group of assembled students.

"Y-yes. Um, I'm Sakura Haruno. We have several questions here I think we need answered if you don't mind us asking right away?" The resident pinkette awkwardly requested. Kakashi and Shamir looked vaguely amused by the interaction in their own respective ways but motioned for her and the other students to ask away.

"Who are you guys?" Kiba started.

"Shamir." The female mercenary pointed to herself before pointing to her companion "Kakashi."

"She's one of the Knights of Seiros at the Monastery. I'm one of your teachers, archery, lances, axes, and swords if anyone needs help with that!" The scarred man helpfully supplied.

"Do either of you know why we were attacked? They seemed to be aiming for students specifically…" Choji asked next.

"Hard to say. We'll need to interrogate the ones we capture alive but the fact our scouting party was killed by them leads me to believe they had an agenda against the Church." Shamir offered. More students began to chime in.

"How far away is the Monastery from where we are?"

"We're about half an hour away."

"Is this area _really_ safe? How could this attack happen under the knight's watch?"

"This is the first attack we've had in a while this close by. You can probably bet the knights will step up patrols after this, don't worry!"

"A-are we going to have time to bathe before we reach our dormitory?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Are we in trouble?"

"Hmm. I don't think there's any policy for punishing students attacked by bandits against their will."

"U-um. A word, please!" Hinata quickly exclaimed, pushing herself to the front of the crowd and halting the derailing Q&A. "Not all of us are here at the moment! Our House leader and her retainer took a force out of the forest to engage the bandits' leader. Has anyone from your team managed to locate a girl with red hair done up in pigtails or a boy with dark hair and eyes, perchance?"

Kunian Students and soldiers alike paled, realizing that while their fight was over here, their leaders were still out there fighting. The former mercenaries in service of the Church blinked and turned towards each other before issuing nonverbal orders to comb the surrounding area and head towards the area Naruko and Sasuke took their squadrons to.

"I can't say we encountered anyone with those description on our way here. Are you certain Naruko and Sasuke are out towards that area?" questioned Kakashi, indicating he personally knew of their leaders by name and description.

"That's absolutely the case, professor!" Ino worriedly exclaimed. "We have to group back up with them, we haven't heard from either since they left to take care of the archers that started this fight!"

"Calm down, panicking does no one any good in this situation." Shamir lectured. "We're on it. If that's the direction your leaders went in, there's a good chance they're going to run into our third companion anyways."

The statement relieved some of the students but others remained anxious.

"Even so, it's in our best interest to rendezvous with them." Shikamaru groused from his place near the front. "We have no idea the type of opponent they could be facing if it's taken them this long to get back to us. You sure this last guy can bail our leaders out?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about him." Kakashi chuckled to himself, as though he knew something they didn't. "His post is a bit higher than what this mission entailed but he was _very_ insistent in being the backup."

"Stop talking in riddles, dammit!" Kiba shouted from near the back. "Who the heck is this last guy, huh?"

"Well-"

Before the masked professor could go any further, an explosion rang out in the distance as a plume of fire grew in the sky. Everyone present mechanically turned towards the spectacle in silence. Shamir and Kakashi casually observed the growing inferno with stoic grace before the male of the duo turned towards the students giving them an eye smile, pointing his thumb towards the spectacle.

"By any chance, do either of your leaders have a tendency to set things on fire?"

Those familiar with the next Kage had the decency to look sheepish.

* * *

With a fire nearby, Sasuke had an easier time analyzing fight taking place near the burning barn. The skull masked knight they were facing appeared to favor wielding the scythe as a lance. He assumed it worked more like an axe but the few swings he and Naruko managed to work out of him without being scraped, it was clear the technique was more indicative that they were in an unfavorable matchup all around. The man wasn't even mounted and both Kunians were forced into full backpedaling retreat when he began to wind up a swing.

"This isn't working at all, Naruko. Our opponent isn't even taking us seriously." Sasuke muttered to his partner who regrouped beside him. "Was there really nothing better you could think of beyond arson?"

"It's all part of the plan." Naruko repeated with a grunt. She was going to say more but stumbled and held a hand on the area above her hip. The dark-haired swordsman's eyes widened in a rare display of concern. The darkness of the night and black cloth of her uniform made things hard to inspect but upon closer look at hand, it was clear she was bleeding quite a bit now.

Sasuke had always been the nimbler of the two but Naruko was absurdly durable to compensate. With the lethality of their most recent opponent however, it became clear she had been accumulating damage for the duration for the engagement.

"Ahh, there it is." The one who inflicted the wounds on his leader's body had the gall to speak again. "The despair. The horror. Your inevitable demise. Have you given up yet? You have struggled for so long, but your end draws near, little kit!" He began chuckling once more, a sinister echo that caught the attention of the soldiers attempting to finish their fights.

"Lady Naruko! We're coming, please hang on!" the nearest captain shouted, attempting to find an opening to clear a path for his comrades. "Grr, go down already you, bastards!" It was clear they would not make it in time at the current rate things were going.

"That's enough out of your mouth. Your constant rambling is beyond annoying!" A scruffed up Sasuke announced to his opponent readying his sword once more. He honestly couldn't take another hit himself but Naruko was on her last leg. "I'll take you on from here on out. Stay out of this, Naruko!"

"No, we're… taking him on together." The twintailed girl growled in pain, shakily bringing herself to stand once more, one hand on her wound, the other holding her sword as Sasuke wrapped her arm over his shoulder in alarm. "You know my creed, you bastard. I won't back out of this fight. We just need to hang in there a little while longer. **You hear that, spooky? I don't back down!**" she shouted, perhaps a bit too over the top based on how much the Uchiha's ears rang.

"Bravado or not, the result remains the same." The knight concluded as he began to wind up a strike once more, scythe glowing in the light, or was it something else? "Your pitiable lives are over."

Before the entity could reach them, the knight immediately halted his charge in surprise and backtracked towards his horse as another fireball intercepted his path, putting a wall of flames between him and his targets.

"Oho, So you managed to dodge that attack! I wouldn't expect anything less from the fellow terrorizing followers of the Church." A bombastic voice familiar to Naruko announced based on her muffled noise of discomfort.

A large figure galloped in front of the wounded duo as other riders began circling the group, many of which began to relieve the Kunian delegation of their bandit issue. The mark and armor of the Church of Seiros was present on their reinforcements, indicating their loyalties. Their savior himself appeared to be a relatively older Dark Knight with long, spiky white hair done in a ponytail, yet garbed in somewhat colorful armor. He wore a confident smirk as he eyed the duo behind him.

"Sorry for the delay, kids. As you know, the hero always arrives at the last moment!"

There was no question about it, it appeared that their backup was none other than the gallant Jiraiya Namikaze.

* * *

_**Hmm, a little over a month since the last update. I admittedly had a bit of trouble brainstorming how I wanted this reunion and scenario to play out. I had hoped to wrap everything up in one chapter along with the aftermath but by the time I got to the end of my writing for this battle, I realized that the engagement and its outcome would be way to large to feasibly fit into one chapter. There was too much juicy dialogue and exposition for me to realistically shove into one chapter without making it the standard. The good news is that as a result, the next chapter is practically done and will be out sooner.**_

_**I also took the time to close the poll as almost everyone seemed receptive to keeping Naruko, good news for me I suppose but the feedback is helpful. Likewise, there seemed to be a decent jump in follows and favorites which is also nice, hopefully I don't disappoint.**_

_**One thing I'd like to call into attention was Naruko's magic specialization. Obviously, she's got a bit of fire magic under her belt at the moment, but the plan is to branch out and have several spells she could work with as part of her magic growth with Reason, mainly elemental stuff. The nice part about Naruko's character is that there's a great argument for each element to be her preference (will of fire, wind was Naruto's specialty, Uzumaki = maelstrom, etc.). The final specialty won't affect storytelling but I'm thinking of having her final spells fall from the thunder tree of magic just to keep things consistent to the lords + Byleth, not to mention there aren't many users of Bolting playable. Dimitri also can learn thunder magic but let's be real, if you're trying to make him a mage, you might be playing the game wrong, heh.**_

_**Anyway, my main point was that Naruko's going to be able to specialize in different branches of magic but if someone had a counterargument to what she should be her final spell list, I'm open to suggestions, it shouldn't affect the story.**_

_**That's enough from me. Another chapter should be coming soon for this story and I can talk more then but it's great seeing the attention this story is getting. As always, feel free to share your thoughts with me. Hopefully I can keep up the pace of storytelling, but feedback has been great so far.**_

_**See you all next time!**_


	4. Staring Down Future Adversity

_**Disclaimer: See prologue**_

_**Welcome to the finale of the bloody first night of our resident academic house. This was the second part of the chapter from last week I couldn't bring myself to release together due to the size of this, so expect some closure in what might as well be the opening act of the story. The chapter should wrap up most of the conflict that originated from this first battle and give everyone a taste of things to come. Expect more characters to show up here and get an idea how things will most likely play out in the coming chapters. As always, I appreciate the support being thrown my way. Even though I mainly do this for fun, the things people do to show interest is always great to see.**_

"Speech"

_Exposition/Flashback_

"**Loud"**

_Emphasis_

_**Naruko's Exposition**_

_**Author's Note**_

* * *

_**Staring Down Future Adversity**_

_Jiraiya had made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime. That was purely his belief, but he had every reason to believe that much of the tragedy that befell his life could have been avoided if he had been more careful, more attentive, more… something. For the records and accolades he managed to win himself while acting as spymaster for the Confederacy and as a Knight of Seiros, it meant jack shit to him when he thought back to how negligent he was to his own family to concentrate on his own assignments._

_Raising Minato alongside his wife had been a complicated yet rewarding experience. Learning from the Grand Professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and alongside the next in line for the Kunian throne, Tsunade Senju, ensured that expectations were high and that he would always be in the thick of things. His family struggled to keep pace with him during those years, but it was ultimately rewarding watching Minato grow up to become a remarkable young man, finding his own glory and acquiring his own family._

_Discovering that his son found love with a younger relative of his former teammate after his wife had passed away and receiving the news that he was the grandfather to newborn girl, Jiraiya couldn't have been happier or prouder with his son's success._

_The knight knew that his kin would be able to forge his own trail forward, and left to pursue his own path, ending up in the service of the Knights of Seiros in an earnest attempt to bridge the gap between the Confederacy and the Church. The man used his own skills and spy network to tie together an array of contacts that would hopefully allow his family and friends to live in peace. He made allies, lifelong friends, and found fulfillment in seeing the future that could be for his secretly struggling homeland. His role as a caretaker over, Jiraiya was content to working in the shadows to take care of threats to his land._

_Those were the happiest days of his life before fate punished him for his negligence._

_It was during an investigation regarding a situation beginning to stir within House Ordelia on the mainland that he received the news that his son and daughter in law had been assassinated while protecting his granddaughter who was revealed to possess the Minor Crest of Asura._

_No one could trace the culprit back to its source. The hitmen, Kunian in descent, were killed and there was no link to a suspect. In the passing months, Jiraiya was in anguish. He buried himself in his work and attempted to wrung out any clues he could of the plot to no avail. The only thing he could find came from naval records suggesting orders came from within Hinokuni, perhaps with outside help from the Mainland. Jiraiya realized too late that in his attempts to secure a more peaceful continent for Hinokuni to join, he drove himself too far away to properly look over his loved ones._

_He couldn't even bear to set foot on his homeland, in dread of seeing the grave of his only child, the child that he couldn't protect. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to visit when his colleagues implored him to visit his granddaughter. Even the Archbishop Rhea, who was the first to suggest closure, appeared to sympathize with his grief with a simple order to take a break._

_Ultimately it was Seteth, of all people, who was the final straw to convince the grieving father to give his due to the dead, imploring him to face the reality._

"_I understand the despair of losing your kin, Jiraiya. Truly." The knight recalled blinking in surprise at the sadness in the man's voice, a tone he hadn't heard before when he was pulled aside. "Which is why I understand more than anything how important it will be to hold on to the remaining pieces of the lives left behind. Don't you believe it is important to face your granddaughter? She is the last legacy of your child, imagine how she feels right now."_

_Gods, he was right, there was still someone left in his family. This entire time he had been so caught up in his mourning, he despaired meeting the girl whom he had abandoned to work, a girl he hadn't met beyond visiting a pregnant Kushina._

_It was inexcusable in his eyes and added to the guilt piling up during his trip back home. Seeing familiar faces and observing the site of where his son's home once stood had been a surreal blur. It was hard to properly focus but the man pushed through, eventually finding his way back to his old teammate, now the leader of the Confederacy._

"_The girl is confused for certain. It's hard for her to open up to her own House and it's clear as day her rambunctiousness is a symptom of loneliness" Tsunade remarked from next to him as they walked through the hallways of the Konoha's palace._

"_Really? I would have imagined the Professor would have been able to get her to open up…" The knight murmured as they made their way to a meeting room._

"_Oh believe me, he's tried." The Kage mentioned with a smirk before frowning. "That old coot has done what he could to get her to open up to others but the girl's stubborn. Doesn't help she knows."_

"…_Knows what?"_

"_About her crest."_

_Jiraiya inhaled tensely at the implication. Tsunade shook her head with a sigh. "You can blame Danzo for that. Something about educating her early about her role as a tool of the Confederacy and spreading the news about her status."_

"_He spoke of her like that?!" The knight whirled on her angrily. The Senju took the reaction in stride._

"_He might as well have, the implication to make her a weapon was there. That bastard never was this callous before his trip to the mainland all those years ago. He's changed for the worst." The blonde leader scrunched her nose at the memory, electing for a subject change. "Letting Sarutobi raise her was honestly the best call. He's done a good job coaxing out her smile. I think she'll be happy to meet you."_

_Jiraiya hoped so. It honestly broke him up to hear how their society already treated the girl. The thought of betraying the leadership of Hinokuni and whisking his granddaughter to Garreg Mach Monastery grew stronger by the moment, but he'd trust his mentor and classmate's influence._

"_Any advice?"_

"_Act natural, be your usual stupid self. Do your usual ridiculous routines to show you're genuine, she really doesn't respond to authority well. Forced politeness and lying gets you nowhere with the girl. We've explained your situation to her, I think she understands what's kept you from meeting her for so long, but you have to be the one to earn her trust."_

_Both grownups arrived at the door that lead to a general greeting area for high level parties. There was some muffled conversation going on the other side, one voice belonged to his wizened professor, another he assumed was her tutor based on his exasperation. The final voice was slightly squeaky but sounded like a younger Kushina. It almost made him tear up from the fresh wave of memories he attempted to repress these past couple years._

"_I'm telling ya, he wanted to fight me! That Uchiha kid started it! Said I looked like walkin' tomato. Fought like one too, he had it coming!"_

"_And you pounced him?! What was the point of trying to make friends with him if you were going to punch him at the slightest provocation!"_

"_I don't even know what that last word means, Sensei!"_

"_Making you angry, young one."_

"_Oh ok. Thanks, gramps!"_

"_You should still apologize Naruko, Sasuke's elder brother seemed to indicate his little brother enjoyed fighting with you but it would go a long way in making friends with him."_

"_The only thing he's allowed to be makin' friends with is my fist, maybe my foot too!"_

"_You brat!"_

_Jiraiya was visibly befuddled at the conversation while Tsunade smiled wryly at his expression, clearly this was a common scene for the medic as she elected to open the doors to let them in._

_The two adults and stamping child halted their spirited conversation and turned their attention to their new guests._

"_Sorry we're late, brat. Brought someone I thought you might want to meet though!" Tsunade announced with a smirk. Said girl looked at her relatives with wide eyes as Jiraiya froze in familiarity._

_Gods, she really did look like a mini Kushina._

_There were hints of Minato in her expressions as well._

_She was so small._

_A part of him couldn't believe he didn't play a hand in taking care of her, another loathed himself at the degree of unfamiliarity his own granddaughter possessed towards him, the rest was overjoyed seeing the girl._

_He had a little song and dance planned. Maybe make an ass out of himself by declaring himself a super pervert to rile up a reaction. Magic lessons or a book, perhaps? He had a million stories to share._

_Whatever plan of action he had was promptly thrown out the window as the kid stared at him in wonder. _

_Was he crying? _

_Ah, it appeared he was. _

_The girl was reacting to the wetness on his face based on her expression._

_The Knight of Seiros noted the smiling expressions of his mentor and his granddaughter's tutor as they gently nudged the now shy girl towards him who slowly approached with increasingly watery eyes herself. If he wasn't crying before, he certainly was now as it got harder to see with the tears in his eyes._

_Naruko moved her arms in a way that seemed to suggest she was coming in for a hug._

_What a wonderful girl, just like Minato at her age._

_Jiraiya prepared to embrace the girl with as much paternal strength he could muster._

_He was forced wheeze from the blow to his testicles, courtesy of an uppercut from his surprisingly strong granddaughter. The legendary spymaster collapsed unceremoniously, grabbing his prized goods with a pained groan._

_What did they put in this kid's lunch to get her to punch so hard? That must be Kushina's genetics in play, he surmised._

_From his spot on the floor, he could see the horrified, gaping expressions on Naruko's tutor and Professor Sarutobi, the pipe of the elder falling out of his mouth. Nearby, he heard the roaring laughter of his traitorous, yet oh so lovely former teammate as she practically cackled with amusement at his suffering._

_Ok, he was expecting a rant, maybe cold dismissal, but this worked as punishment as well. He noted a few tears that fell near his position that didn't originate from him._

_Craning his neck a bit more, he was treated to the wonderful sight of Naruko giving him a wide smile, happy in origin, despite the tears running down her face._

"_That's for taking so long to see me. Nice to finally meetcha, grandpa!" she said with more pep than what he suspected he deserved._

"_Niceterfinermeetchatoorrrgh…" he tried to rasp out with a pained smile as Tsunade let out a fresh new wave of hollering laughter. _

* * *

The atmosphere remained tense as ever as Jiraiya surveyed the situation around him.

"I had every intention to send my men into the forest where we last saw our scouts, but imagine my surprise when we spotted flames by a farm we long suspected was abandoned along with the shouting of a fair maiden! You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that, would you?" The gallant figure announced dangerously to the scythe wielder.

Sasuke's eyes widened along with some of the soldiers. You couldn't be serious. Did that moron he called his leader actually plan the fire? He slowly looked over to the retainer he was still supporting and to his abject horror, she gave him that stupid smug smirk she always wore when she pulled an awful prank back in their youth.

There was no surprise in her expression, the over the top 'counterattack' she bragged about was actually meant to be a signal flare for whoever to find them. No one behind them could see her expression but it was clear they were connecting the dots as well. Even their former opponent seemed to be directing his gaze straight onto her in realization. This girl. How could someone with such a short attention span get away with such a ridiculous maneuver?

Granted the backup she was expecting probably wasn't her relative, but the results were the same.

"…I wasn't expecting a man of your caliber to be in the area. I suppose this complicates things quite a bit." The dark figure remounted onto his horse, seeing his new opponent as a larger threat that needed his attention. "Even so, the opportunity to take on one of the Knights of Seiros… things have finally become interesting."

"Hah, I see you're familiar with my charms and renown! Sorry to say though, if it's a duel to the death you're looking for, _Spooky_, I'm not interested in playing fair tonight." _Spooky's_ new adversary retorted as several of his knights began to form rank with him in front of the Kunian nobles, now backed by their own soldiers and doing their part to patch up their lieges' wounds.

"And for the record, I didn't come alone. I've got my former subordinate and my much hotter, _current_ associate in the Knights of Seiros making their way here as we speak." The lecherous knight declared with a gusto as he and the other knights drew their weapons with a flair before adding in one final warning with an ominous glare. "But if you insist in tormenting my cute granddaughter and her boytoy, then I, the gallant Jiraiya, will be more than happy to personally escort you to the _real_ reaper!"

"…Boytoy?" Sasuke remarked with a frown.

"Just ignore him." Naruko sighed. Their former opponent looked to be ready to fight the lot of them before the news of additional reinforcements.

"It seems as though the opportunity to cull the weak has passed, how vexing." The glowing knight surmised, seeing the odds grow less and less in his favor. "It is unfortunate that you won't allow me to observe the flow of your blood, Sir Jiraiya. Regardless, there will always be another opportunity to play with the students of the Monastery another day." All soldiers looked ready to pursue the man at that cold-hearted remark before the ground below the rider lit up in the telltale signs of a teleportation spell as the figure himself revealed a bag on his person.

"We shall meet again."

And with no other parting words, their would-be assassin vanished into the night. Jiraiya motioned his horse to trot over to the knight's last location, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"So he had warp powder to get away with this entire time, that's going to be annoying to track him with…" the white haired knight muttered. He elected to dismount and check over the Kunian nobles that were recovering, performing a more in-depth inspection for Naruko. He stopped in front of the patched-up teenagers as they silently eyed each other, one with affectionate familiarity, the other with dispassionate apathy.

"Well, well. You grew since the last time I saw you. Barely reached my waist the last time I saw you." Jiraiya murmured with a smile.

"…Thanks for coming to our aid." The redhead neutrally retorted. Something told Sasuke she wasn't in the mood to chat with her relative on her father's side.

"Glad I was able to. Not exactly the first impression I hoped you'd get out of the mainland."

"…" Naruko didn't bother to give him a response, electing to stare at him with indifference. The wizened knight uncomfortably cleared his throat

"So, who's your boyfriend? Looks like you were busy since I was gone, eh?"

"My retainer, actually. You would know if had bothered to visit in the past seven years." The redhead responded, without missing a beat.

Ouch.

_That_ finally got Jiraiya to react with a flinch. Sasuke likewise cringed mentally, he knew the girl had a strained relation with her grandfather, but this was uncharacteristically brutal of her.

"Sasuke of House Uchiha, sir." The retainer politely offered, attempting to diffuse the frosty reunion. The man looked grateful for the subject change at the least as he turned his attention to him.

"Ohh, Fugaku's younger kid. Never would have imagined someone of your status would work together like you do with Naruko. I appreciate you looking after her, sure you got some stories to tell!"

Sasuke offered a wry smirk in response. "More than a couple, I suppose."

"Oi, Pervy Knight." Naruko elected to cut in at that moment, all business. "We need to talk about what happened tonight. You know anything about the asshole who attacked us?"

"Yeah, you could say that. This guy has been a nuisance to the church for a while now. Rhea's going to want to hear about this from the two of you for certain." Jiraiya straightened up and likewise grew serious. The change was almost eerie compared to the jovial man that they were talking to before, but he supposed the apple didn't fall far from tree based on the personality of the redhead beside him. "He doesn't really call himself anything, but the folks around here decided that if he was going to have a title, it'd probably be the Death Knight."

"That's corny as hell." The Kunian heir muttered, the Uchiha felt himself nodding in agreement. Jiraiya likewise grinned at their responses.

"I'm inclined to agree as well but we don't really get to make up these things by ourselves, eh?" Jiraiya chuckled and nodded. "Regardless, I can debrief you on the way to the rest of your group what we know about this fellow and our lovely Archbishop can fill you in herself how we can respond."

xxx

The reunion had been a swift affair as students and soldiers alike flocked around battered and bloodied colleagues, providing aid and getting their own accounts as to what happened. Upon reuniting with their group, Naruko switched gears and jovially greeted her friends and placated their worries despite her bloodied appearance as they resumed their trek to the Monastery.

There was a great deal of fretting from Ino and Sakura who both seemed to be unaware of their own dishevel. Hinata and Choji likewise stood off to the side and expressed gratitude that everything worked out, there was a hint from some of the more analytical members of the group that there was more to the encounter than their leader or second in command let on, but most were too tired to ponder it.

Reuniting with Sir Kakashi was likewise a pleasant surprise for the Uzumaki and Uchiha who had fond memories of receiving lessons in combat from the renown Kunian mercenary turned professor back in their youth. Meeting Shamir was an awkward affair by comparison but an entertained Jiraiya and Kakashi assured It was par the course for Shamir to keep things quick and concise. Everyone agreed to keep quiet about the source of conflict until meeting with the Church officials who were likely concerned with the situation.

* * *

"Towels! Water! Who else needs supplies? Does anybody need some water or a towel? Get yer hands on supplies before I run out!" a young boy shouted around the courtyard coming out from the reception hall, an Almyran based on his tan skin. Other members of the staff and Church likewise ran around, ensuring the students and Kunian soldiers were properly taken care of and treated for any injuries they might have.

"Right over here, buddy!" Kiba waved him over, acquiring gear for himself as well as Choji and Shikamaru, the former ravenously digging into some leftover stew from the mess hall. The Inuzuka boy likewise threw the towel on his head and took a hearty swig of water. "_Pwah_, thanks a ton! You know how much longer this will go on or-" Upon removing the towel from his head, Kiba realized the boy had already moved on to supply other students without waiting for him.

"…Aw man, really?"

"That kid looked ready to stay up the night, handing out supplies to everyone in Fódlan. I doubt you were going to get less than five seconds of his attention, Kiba." Shikamaru muttered in observation.

"Haha, don't mind him, lad. That's just how the boy goes about his business for Lady Rhea!" a new, cheerful, voice loudly chimed in from nearby. The three noted he seemed to be a well-groomed knight based on his bright appearance.

"Well it's still reassuring everyone seemed as worried as we were over the attack, guess we all share it in different ways!" Choji opened with a pleasant wave.

"You're absolutely correct, my friend! Make no mistake, we all at the Garreg Mach Monastery are behind you, one hundred percent! Even if young Cyril is a little busy at the moment, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the situation." The knight continued with a well-natured smile before realizing something. "Oh! Pardon my manners, before I forget I should have introduced myself. I am Alois Rangeld, one of the Knights of Seiros. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask!"

"Oh! Er, I'm Choji Akimichi. This here is Shikamaru Nara and Kiba Inuzuka. We're all from noble houses in Hinokuni, Sir Alois." The rotund student elected to speak on behalf of a parched Kiba and exhausted Shikamaru who gave salutes and grunts of their own to a jovial Alois. "Are we starting classes first thing tomorrow after this?"

"A good question! The situation seemed to have spiraled out of control and I am fairly certain we're treating the next two days as holidays so that you may adjust to student life." The sunny man remarked with a scratch of his chin. "Honestly, this is the first time something like this has happened from my knowledge. Perhaps Seteth or Tomas could confirm that for me but regardless, our priority is making sure you all are properly cared for."

"Speaking of which, is Naruko still speaking with the Archbishop?" Shikamaru inquired, looking over the yard to see Sasuke, unconvincingly trying to brood by himself as a cat cozied up to him.

"Guess so." Kiba joined in, finishing his drink. "Sheesh, I hope she's not in trouble after that barn burned down."

"Hm, That old thing? Pah, it's been abandoned for years, it was probably for the best." Alois dismissed, adding a wink with his next line. "After all, if the barn caught on fire that easily, it's more along the lines of a _burn_, eh? Eh?"

The three students stared at the man in silence, perhaps disappointment, it was hard to say for Alois.

"…"

"…"

"…Um. I apologize. You all are probably a little tired after that battle and joking might be in poor taste at the moment." The pungeon master mumbled with a blush. "Knew I should've brought my joke book…"

"Oh uh, that's alright? Let's go with that. Don't worry about it." Kiba offered with an uncomfortable laugh, nudging Shikamaru and Choji to do the same.

* * *

"See anything yet, Ashe?"

"Uh, there's still a lot of soldiers blocking my view. Are you sure we should be doing this? Maybe we should just wait to meet the other House tomorrow like everyone else, Caspar…"

"Yeah we _could_ do that, _orrr_ we could get some juicy info on our future rivals! I bet Dimitri would love to hear all about the latest details of the Orange Fox leader, don't you think?"

"I guess... I just don't really think we should go about doing it like this though."

From a safe distance away behind a wall, an odd alliance was struck between a cyan and gray haired duo from different Houses. News and rumors of the Hinokuni's delayed arrival brought forth a wave of speculation. Their country of origin tended to only send students every few years and as a result, there was always generated interest about the island nation's class and they would send. When news that the next Kage destined for the throne of the island nation was to be sent to be leader of the Foxes' Class of 1180, the interest grew to a fever pitch.

Caspar, in his limited wisdom, elected to scope out the competition before anyone else and enlisted the help of the former thief, Ashe, to get him close, leading to the current situation.

"Listen Ashe, this is as close as we're going to get to seeing these guys at their most vulnerable. We'll be able to pick out what they're really like this way." The cyan haired boy told his cohort. "Linhardt refused to come with me and had the nerve to fall asleep right after I asked, so you're all I can count on to get this spy mission done!"

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but we still could sneak around better than this!" Ashe nervously protested.

"Huh? What do you mean, how can we up our recon game?"

"Not shout for the world to hear, for one thing." A new voice joined in causing the duo to yelp in panic and face their accuser. Caspar was the quicker of the two to provide a response.

"We're sorry! We swear we're not doing anything to- oh. It's just you, Lysithea."

"Hi Lysithea!"

Lysithea narrowed her eyes at the casual dismissal of her threat level. The white-haired girl had her hands on her hips in accusation of the two boys standing before her. "Honestly, you might as well wake up everyone else in the Monastery with you childish bickering. What are you two even thinking, trying to spy on a rival house like this. You both could get in serious trouble!"

"Hey, there's no rule against scoping out competition like this. We're not hurting anyone and we're keeping our distance!" The short Eagle student protested.

"I still don't see why we can't just go up and greet them." Ashe mumbled, looking back at the crowd.

The young Deer student rolled her eyes at their comments. "If it's taken them this long to get situated there's probably a reason they don't want you to get close. Honestly, you're both better off waiting to meet them tomorrow."

"Oh come on, you don't think a schemer like Claude would want to get a firsthand scoop why it took a rival house this long to make it here?" Caspar countered. Lysithea scoffed.

"Please, as if there's anything to gain from this type of sneaking. I'm going to bed." The girl began to walk away before an annoyed Caspar called out to her.

"Fine, go then! Feel free to walk back to the dorms by yourself in the dark!" Lysithea stopped.

"What did you say?" She whispered. Caspar raised his brow in confusion.

"Uh, feel free to go then?"

"No, walking in the dark!"

"Well yeah, most of the guards are here so it's safe to assume there isn't anyone looking over the corridors."

The conversation grew quiet as Caspar just stared in confusion at Lysithea's expression. Ashe looked back over and picked up the hidden distress in the girl's countenance.

"If you stick with us, we can walk back together to the dorms if you want?" the Lion student offered with a smile.

"We can?"

"**Fine**! V-very well! Scoot over and let me see what these new students look like!"

"We will?"

"Glad you can join us! We can't see anything yet because of the soldiers but I think I caught a glimpse of some of them getting ready to be escorted to the dorms."

"Hmph, they must be waiting for an official statement or something similar. I heard some chatter that there was fight before they were able to make it to the Monastery when I was leaving the library."

"Haha that makes sense. Good thinking, Lysithea!"

Caspar could only scratch his head at the development. First the Deer student was going to lecture them, then leave, now she's staying and helping?

Weird girl. Whatever, the more the merrier!

* * *

"Aaaaand done! See, stiches aren't so bad when performed by a maiden's delicate hands, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh, sure. Thank you very much, Professor Manuela!"

Manuela Casagranda sighed as she watched another student wave goodbye after administering a healing spell, following a necessary suture. Patching up the wounded was part of her job at the Academy, but she did hope one of the accompanying soldiers would stop by and ask for a _closer_ checkup before the night ended.

She could see it now, an innocent physical turned passionate, fueled by the knowledge that the man's tenure at the Academy was only for tonight. They'd confess and he'd throw away his duty to his land to spend the rest of his days doting over his one true love…

Ugh. Was it so hard to make dreams like that into a reality?

I mean seriously, some of the studs here clearly could be her type if they pay her a visit. The officers in the Confederacy must be raising their troops right if some of them turn out to look like those chiseled statues she'd familiarized herself with at-

"That was amazing technique professor! I've never seen a surgical suture applied to someone's back as efficiently as you made it out to be! Is it more efficient to perform it in conjunction with a spell to speed up recover or simply your preference?"

Oh right, she had a spectator that had been watching her work for the past couple patients now. It wasn't every day a student sought out Manuela the Physician, rather than inquire about her days at the Mittelfrank Opera Company or her work as a teacher. That itself was an interesting development worth her attention she thought with a smile. There weren't any more patients that required attention from her, why not test the waters with this girl.

"That's a fair thing to ask, Sakura, was it?" The pinkette observing her work nodded with a tired smile. Poor dear clearly had a harrowing first experience on the battlefield. The former songstress gave her a reassuring smile and wink of her own. "In this scenario, it's generally more efficient for a healer to do a mix of both when looking over a large group such as this. We conserve resources and energy a bit more efficiently when we perform a mix of both, rather than leaving everything to the strongest healing spell. After all it does us no good to waste good magic when off the battlefield when we might need it for a more dire circumstance."

Sakura nodded along with what she was saying. "I see, so it is a matter of efficiency…" She muttered to herself. "Ugh I wish I had a notepad to take this down. Normally I'd have one when studying Lady Tsunade's work but I didn't expect to start learning again on the first night!" Manuela laughed at the girl's studiousness, mentally tucking away the information about her being the current Kage's disciple.

"No need to worry! There's no exam on the material but for someone supposedly disarming bandits with her strength, you seem to be quite interested in the medical field, hm?" the songstress mentioned with a naturally sultry voice, causing Sakura to blush at the mention of her strength.

"A-ah, yes ma'am. It was one of the things I was studying before I came here, I had hoped to continue to learn in order to continue supporting my leader when she gets injured. So many of us are ready to fight but who'll support them from the back? At least that's my thought…"

Well that's a noble enough reason as any. A girl with the capacity to become a warrior and motivated to learn medicine? Now _that_ was an interesting find. Perhaps she'd be a diamond just as Dorothea had been in the Opera Company the teacher thought with a delighted smile.

"Well Miss Haruno, it would be considered extracurricular, but if you were ever interested in picking up where we left off learning tonight, the doors to my office are always open for you to continue learning if you wish? I'd love to continue to see how you develop."

The bright smile and shine in the Kunian girl's eyes told Manuela everything she needed to know about whether her offer to the girl was the right one or not.

She hadn't even realized as other shirtless soldiers began acquiring checkups from the remaining priests and priestesses as she became enraptured in her own impromptu lesson.

* * *

"I see, this account matches up with the report of the burnt down barn." A dark green haired official muttered to a regally garbed woman possessing hair in a lighter shade of mint green, motioning a priest nearby to scribe the account of the engagement. "Jiraiya, Shamir, Kakashi, do you any of you have anything to add to the report?" Few individuals were allowed in the chapel at this hour, but discretion was necessary after the events that had transpired under the eyes of the Church.

"We've gone over what we saw from our end, Seteth. Unfortunately we can't question the bandit leader himself or any of our scouts since they're all dead, so the most we can do is go off the information we have here and start looking to our network to see what venues this Death Knight has been using to mobilize bandit camps and acquire something as rare as warp powder." Jiraiya mentioned from his place by the side of the chapel before looking over the Shamir. "Could you work with Catherine to get in contact with those familiar with this Larrick fellow and the Ravagers?"

"Understood." The sniper nodded, looking over to the Archbishop. "Permission to be dismissed, Lady Rhea?"

"Granted. Thank you for your work, Shamir." The now dubbed Rhea nodded with a smile. Shamir responded with a nod and exited the premise, passing by a stiff Naruko along the way. The head church official gently turned back towards the final House leader of the school and let out a tired sigh and frowned. "Once again, you have my sincerest apology on behalf of the Church for the peril you and your classmates were exposed to as a result of our negligence. We have… run into issues with this mysterious knight in the past but we have never had a situation that has led to him act as brazenly as he did tonight..."

"O-oh, that's alright, ma'am. Really, I'm just glad we all made it out in one piece. I'm sure everyone who came with me appreciates how the Knights of Seiros came to our aid, myself included." Naruko gave an embarrassed laugh, scratching the area behind her head in embarrassment with a smile and nod. "I can't you all enough for opening your doors again to Hinokuni after all these years. We're really happy to be here and learn from everyone once again. Promise you won't regret it."

Rhea smiled at the redhead's response. "My, the pleasure is ours. Rest assured, there will be steps taken in order to ensure you and your classmates are properly protected for the duration of your time at the Monastery."

"Has this been an issue in the past? Does anyone here have any lead as to why we were targeted specifically?" Naruko questioned the leaders of the Church with a grimace. The forest green haired man, Seteth if she recalled shook his head solemnly.

"Unfortunately, the best conclusion we could give you at this time is that this Death Knight appears to be targeting all members associated with the Church, regardless of background. His origins are unknown, but the one thing that has been made apparent from our encounters with him is that he appears to be indiscriminatory towards his targets." Seteth frowned before continuing. "Regardless of your attacker's motives, I take personal blame for failing to account for the possibility of an assault as fierce as the one you and your allies endured."

"Ah, that's alright! It's like you said, there was no way any of us could have expected him to know when he was going to show up looking for us." Naruko's grandfather frowned at her statement. The fact an enemy of the church knew of the route the Kunian force would take to reach their destination raised several questions who they were dealing with as well as how in the world they received their information. It was highly likely this was on the mind on several of his colleagues as well based on Kakashi's idle mannerisms next to him.

"Hm. Well regardless of the circumstances, we are pleased you were able to make to the Officer's Academy with no casualties. Your House and soldiers performed admirably in wake of the crisis. Garreg Mach Monastery is pleased to once again be able to have the Hinokuni Confederacy's delegation as our guests and students." The aide to the Archbishop finished with a nod. Rhea continued from where her assistant left off with a gentle smile.

"Jiraiya has spoken a great deal of high praise about you. He seems to believe you have the capacity to befriend the future leaders here and help nations of Fódlan move past their grudges." Naruko blinked at the holy woman's praise and blushed when it sunk in, looking at her grandfather in shock. The older knight looked no better at being called out and looked away in embarrassment. Rhea giggled quietly at the interaction. "No need to be so astonished! He speaks quite highly of you and how much he looks forward to reuniting with you once more. We appear to be blessed with quite a number of excellent individuals this year, I earnestly look forward to seeing what you accomplish here as well, you and all your peers."

Poor Naruko couldn't even properly retort at the acclaim. The knowledge that her absent grandfather had been talking to the archbishop of all people about her all these years only added to the complicated pile of emotions she reserved for the man. She fought down her blush anyways and bowed low to her House's benefactor so that no one saw her flustered state any longer. "Thank you for the confidence in me and my house, we'll be in your care!"

Rhea nodded with another smile, turning to Seteth and Kakashi. "I think we can finish this debriefing. We mustn't keep the students waiting any longer, I am sure everyone wishes to call it a night as well. Are the baths prepared?" Seteth gave a nod of confirmation and moved towards the Foxes' leader.

"All dormitories are prepared as well. Shall we escort you and your fellow students to your new living arrangements?"

"Sure, sounds good to me!" Naruko turned looked Kakashi who offered a thumbs up before shifting to Jiraiya, surprised at the attention again but remaining silent. There was a pregnant pause between the apprehensive granddaughter and grandfather who remained quiet yet hopeful for any form of reconciliation.

There wasn't any smile or affection given but before Jiraiya could be disappointed again, Naruko opened her mouth to speak to him, to his eagerness. The Uzumaki blinked at his expression and blushed in frustrated embarrassment, clamping her mouth shut. She turned away once more to stomp away but offered something for the deflated man to latch onto instead with a quick wave.

"W-we'll chat later, Pervy Knight. Thanks again." And then she was gone with Seteth and Kakashi.

Jiraiya blushed in mortification at the nickname but then lit up at the implication of her words after a couple seconds.

He had a chance again!

A way to bring her into his world without his work getting in the way. There was no way he was going to squander the opportunity to bond with his sole granddaughter.

"My, my. Pervy Knight, Jiraiya? That's quite a title you've been bestowed by your granddaughter of all people! I wonder what the story is behind such a moniker…"

Oh shit. The Archbishop was still here. Wait, when did everyone vacate the chapel?!

* * *

"Hey hey, there's movement. I think something is happening!" Ashe excitedly announced to his two partners in crime, currently distracted in an argument of their own.

"All I'm saying is that all those sweets you eat aren't doing you any good if you're looking to grow stronger. You're always falling behind with physical training because your diet is pretty much anything that consists of sugar!"

"My focuses are fine, I'll have you know! I don't have the slightest bit of care towards that bustle when my interests are purely academic!"

"Well they could be both if you ate a more balanced meal."

"As if you have the right to lecture me about my diet, all that food you eat appears to have done nothing to help you grow vertically!"

"Um, guys?" Ashe tried to intervene.

"Hey, I'm still growing by the day, I'll have you know!"

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve? Did my words finally get through to your skull?"

"Your argument doesn't make any sense anyways. I'm talking about eating for physical training and you trying to bring up my height is a low blow!"

"Guys."

"I told you, I have absolutely zero interest in something so trivial. I'm studying to become a mage, not a meathead!"

"You don't think a bit of conditioning helps you at all with your magic? That's ridiculous!"

"Of course it's ridiculous! I don't have time to divert my studies to something as frivolous as that when I-"

The arguing duo found themselves yanked down by the collar, courtesy of a frantic Ashe. Somewhere along the way, they must have been standing to continue their argument.

"What's the big idea, Ashe? I'd expect that out of that dunce but not you!" Lysithea hissed.

"Yeah, this seems more like the type of thing I'd do. What gives?" Caspar agreed, rubbing his neck. The gray-haired student blushed at their reprimanding but shook it off.

"I'm really sorry, but look, they're coming!"

Activity and arguing halted at that moment. All three observed as soldiers bidding farewell seemed to be making a path for the new group to get out and all three representatives from each house attempted to excitedly crane their necks to see the last house from behind their hiding spot.

"_What happened to them?!_"

What weren't expecting was a group of students their age, covered in blood and grime, as though they just came out of a decade long war. All three amateur spies paled in horror at the scruffy state the new House seemed to be in.

For Caspar, the boy couldn't ignore the battle-hardened spirit some of the male students appeared to exhibit. He was originally looking for challenging opponents but the expressions from some of the guys appeared downright savage to the cyan-haired lad as they pushed and shoved each other.

* * *

"Ugh, move away from me, pal. You smell like the wrong side of a farm!" A disgruntled Fox student remarked to his nearby irate compatriot.

"I think we _all_ smell like crap after what we went through today don't you?" responded another miscellaneous student with a wince.

"Oh man, I call the first round of baths. I can't go around meeting other girls when I look like this!" another whined.

"The hell? Who said you get to choose who goes first?"

"Oi, quit shoving! You stink!"

"All the more reason to let me hop in the bath first, dammit!"

"Can we get a smelling judge over here to dispute this dastard?!"

"Yeah, sure. Everyone loses. You all smell like crap to me." Grumbled Kiba from his place in the front.

* * *

Ashe's focus was locked on the expressions of the females of the house, those that weren't stone-faced, covered in blood appeared visibly reserved with their situation. He couldn't imagine the training and conditioning their leaders put them through to reach that level of professionalism…

But what was the secret to their stoicism? He couldn't help but wonder.

* * *

"H-hey, do blood stains come out of hair and clothing easily?" one lass asked to her tired friend.

"I don't know anymore" Her friend moaned back. "My legs feel like jelly after standing back there for so long!" Other girls began muttering nearby.

"Those priests really took their sweet time to check for infections, huh."

"Why is it so hard to take a bath first before getting looked over!"

"Lectures better not end up that boring, I swear to Seiros…"

"Did anyone get looked over by one of those knights back there who kept trying to deliver these puns to get us to lighten up?"

"Oh yeah. There was also an older guy who wouldn't shut up about if anyone's crests in our group activated during the battle after we told him we were fine."

"I swear that book, Sir Kakashi was reading was smut. I've seen my father with that book when my mother isn't looking."

The discord was at least amusing to listen to after the whirlwind evening everyone was subjected to.

"Did you really need to take that long to meet the archbishop, fearless leader?" Ino remarked with a smirk, directing her comment to Naruko somewhere in the back.

"Sorry, can't hear you!" a familiar voice snarked right back without missing a beat.

* * *

Lysithea had been privy to her House leader's physical descriptions of several noteworthy house members of the new group, more specifically, how their leader could be identified by her crimson hair. Based on her observation, the girl matching the description was _cold_. She wore an orange sash similar to the other House leaders but was splattered in blood that another girl was fussing over from nearby.

The expression on her face could be most succinctly summarized as unfriendly. Whatever conversation she had been a part of seemed to indicate that she was as much of a blood knight as some of the more combat hungry individuals out there, the crimson life fluid did little to break her gaze. The redhead was barely smiling aside from when she addressed her colleague, an indigo haired girl fussing over her friend's(?) appearance. The Lysithea wasn't able to get a good look but the studious girl could have sworn the House leader's compatriot had blank white eyes without pupils or irises…

Suspicious! What sort of distrustful individuals were they letting into this institution?!

* * *

"One moment, Naruko. I understand you must be a little impassioned after your encounter with your grandfather but please allow me to clean up your appearance just a bit!" Hinata, a girl who most certainly possessed pale irises, murmured to her precious leader. "Goodness, your expression is too rigid at the moment… I imagine anyone looking at you might have a scare."

"Oh, really? Sorry Hinata. I'm actually not mad or anything like that, y'know? Just thinking about my conversation with the Archbishop, nothing bad I promise. I even got along with the Pervy Knight!" The House leader responded glibly.

"That's wonderful! Even so, is there something on your mind you wish to get off your chest?"

"Hrmm, maybe a couple of things actually."

The blunette blinked in surprise at her leader's frank admission. "Is that so?" she asked with interest, eager to help her out.

"Mm, yeah. Actually, it'd be best to get our inner circle in on what exactly Sasuke and I were up against when we faced their leader." There was a bit of apprehension in Naruko's expression, but it quickly dissipated, most likely as a non-concerning thought. "Can you let the others know we're gonna need to have an emergency meeting? I think a couple of you suspected but there was more to that fight than what we could reveal at the time."

Hinata noticed. Shikamaru did as well but suspected it was most likely a private issue.

"Of course. I'll spread the word to gather at your room once everyone is settled in."

"Thanks, Hinata."

Whatever was on her House leader's mind, the Hyuga heiress vowed to see it through for her leader's sake. It was the least she could do after years of support and promised salvation.

* * *

All three peeping toms ducked over the bush they were peering from behind to regroup after their viewing party. The impromptu team were trying to process what they had just witnessed but it was clear there was some apprehension in the air. Eventually Caspar predictably broke the ice with his usual gusto.

"Oh man, did you see how hardcore some of those guys were? I bet they eat nails for breakfast, walking around with all that blood!"

"I don't think that was a fashion choice they had the liberty of choosing." Ashe offered weakly.

"Even so, no one was holding a burial while they were there, which means they all got out without any casualties!" The hot-blooded student excitedly mentioned.

"It was clear that they came out of a conflict of sorts. We were supposed to be able to observe them at their weakest, but it was almost as if they had no perceived weakness they wished to expose. How bothersome!" Lysithea murmured to herself with a huff.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to report to Dimitri after this." The Blue Lion student in their group muttered. "Maybe we'll just get a better impression tomorrow."

"Hey man, dunno about you but 'covered in blood and ready to fight' is a pretty good analysis in my book!" The cyan haired bruiser remarked happily. "What do you think, Lysithea?"

Lysithea didn't respond. She was too busy freezing up at the dark, black haired Kunian student that had apparently been staring at them since they had begun their little peeping session. Ashe and Caspar promptly paled in horror at he realization that they weren't nearly as stealthy as they had hoped to be.

The tall Kunian with onyx eyes continued to observe the trio with an almost predatory gaze… or was that exasperation? Ashe was too locked up to know for certain, it was also too dark. He did vaguely remind the former thief of Felix. Perhaps a distant relative or compatriot? Wait, they were still being watched. Right.

Were they dead? Or was he going to call a teacher?

The boy did neither of things. With a roll of his eyes, he continued to move forward with the rest of his group and caught up to his House leader. Whatever the ominous teenager was searching for in the three prone students, Ashe guessed he didn't appear to be impressed enough to hurt them.

Or was that annoyance? It was really hard to tell with this guy!

"…Maybe we should just all go back to our rooms…"

He didn't even realize he had said that out loud but based on the unenthusiastic agreement he received from his cohorts, it was probably a mutual feeling.

Hooray for the small victories?

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! You mean to tell me that while we were fighting a bunch of no name bandits, you and Sasuke were tangling with some sort of serial killer against the Church?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it, Kiba. Any other questions?"

The eight students selected to represent the greater Orange Fox student body were gathered in their House leader's room at Hinata's behest. All of them changed into the orange loungewear assigned to their dormitory but noticeably on edge after learning about Naruko's opponent. The knowledge that there was a trained killer on par with some of the best warriors out there looking for a way to fight students of the Academy was downright concerning.

"So, it wasn't by chance a bunch of bandits decided to attack a fully armed group of students. It was all coordinated by this 'Death Knight'." Shikamaru surmised, the pineapple haired student suspected there was more to the conflict than met the eye but apparently it was tied to a greater threat originating from Church discontent. "What a drag… We actually were in serious trouble after all, huh?"

"Do we have a plan to investigate the situation, Naruko?" Hinata asked, seemingly on behalf of everyone as the group perked up. Before the girl could respond, Sasuke spoke up.

"For the time being, we're not doing anything about this." He announced, receiving no push back from his leader who had previously agreed with him on the response. It wasn't the right answer to several present, however.

"No? This bastard tried to take Naruko and your life! what do you mean we're not going after him!" Kiba snarled ready to get up in the Uchiha's face before Choji reeled him back in with a strong grip.

"He's right, though." Shikamaru muttered. "This isn't something we, as a whole, can't ignore. What's your game here, Sasuke?" The dark youth narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

"Where do you all think we are?" Sasuke questioned. "As far as we should be concerned, this is foreign territory, far from the loyal forces we had to send home. We have to move forward under the guise that we have no reserves and no resources beyond those the Church chooses to provides us. It isn't in our hands to get involved with the meddling of the Knights of Seiros who are already looking into this. What we _do_ need to focus on is our original objective."

The forging of relations and bonds with the other three nations. Self-improvement and bettering their individual crafts. The six students looked back over to Naruko for confirmation, who gave a solemn nod of her own.

"As much as it bugs me, we need to stick to our goals. There are others here affected by the problems of this guy and we have to leave it up to the professionals to sort it out for now. We can't get sidetracked with this conspiracy when we have our own chance to get stronger and fight better the next time it happens."

"The next time, huh…" Choji sadly murmured.

"How did this creep even know we were coming?" Ino asked nervously pulling her ponytail from beside her spot next to Sakura by the bed. "This guy targets students and Church members, right? We weren't even at the academy yet."

The question remained unanswered in the silence that followed.

"Are we even safe here, Naruko?" Sakura sadly asked. "Are we doing the right thing by staying here with people like him after us?"

"…I'm not going to pretend that everything that's happened today was alright, because it wasn't." The redhead smiled ruefully at the question, opting to stand up. "But I think we all know that there's no turning back."

"Well, we know for certain he isn't just after _us_." Hinata softly mentioned.

"And as a reminder, everyone here and accounted for knew going into this journey that we were throwing ourselves into danger with no backup incoming." Sasuke bluntly mentioned causing several to flinch that had their doubts. "Even if you all have your own motivations for being at the Academy, don't forget we're all here to support the Confederacy."

Naruko nodded at the Uchiha's words. He never really learned to cut back on statements but usually the honesty was necessary. "I think what we're all forgetting is that we're not going to solve any of our problems by sitting around in Konoha. That's what got our ancestors into this mess with stagnation and crest reliance. We have to be the ones to take the first step forward, otherwise no one will."

The Uzumaki clutched her waist where her wound was previously before it was healed. "I think… I was close to choking back there, to be honest. But we can't back down now, what would that say about us? We still are all here, and no one said our path was the easiest!" She looked around to her cohorts, "If I didn't have absolute faith in all of you, I would have given up right from the start! But I haven't and I really think this is our chance to make things right."

Naruko gave a bright grin to her audience, most of whom were smiling once again at her reassurance. "I can't thank you all enough so far. Will you guys stick with me?"

Sakura was the first to stand, having maintained a frown for the duration of the speech despite Naruko's happy expression. The commoner slowly walked towards the Uzumaki before hugging her in confirmation with a sigh.

"I'm really sorry for making you worry that, of course we'll support you, moron."

"Hey hey, Count me in! I can't let Queen Forehead hog all the sappy bits!" Ino chimed in and hopped over to embrace Naruko from the other side.

"Buzz off, Porky! I give way better hugs anyways!"

"What's that? Group hug? Well if you insist!" Kiba announced, dragging a giggling Hinata over. Choji likewise grabbed a resisting Shikamaru and threw him into the pile before embracing the laughing group himself, practically lifting everyone with jolly ease.

Naruko was laughing the entire time before looking at a laidback Sasuke, eying the pile with amusement. The Uzumaki made a smug motion for him to join the pile, the smirking Uchiha responded with a mouthed out "Nope".

He was there in spirit anyways.

* * *

A little more camaraderie was shared among the group before everyone broke for the night, promising to meet one last time as a group in the morning before beginning their first day at the Academy. With everyone gone, Naruko found herself staring out at the stars in a manner similar to the final night on the ship that brought everyone here.

A familiar, broody presence alerted her to the fact that not everyone had gone to bed yet as the figure stepped up next to the Uzumaki to lean on the railing of the second-floor balcony of their dormitory. Sasuke fell into comfort silence next to his cohort, neither talking nor observing her, preferring to let the day reflect on the consciousness of both future leaders of the Confederacy.

"…Hard to imagine our first night would be this crazy." The redhead smiled, breaking the admittedly nice quiet of the night. "Throwing down with a maniac was not on my list of things to do while we were here, but I guess we'll work it out as we go along."

"Unfortunately, it sounds like we're going to have to get used to it." Sasuke mused from beside her. "Are you ready? For the challenges tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We're really taking a shot in the dark with this one." The girl winced at the memory of the blood she spilled that evening. Bandits were bandits, but that was no excuse for her to perceive any death as acceptable. The newfound student turned around to lean her back on the balcony in thought. "There's definitely going to be a lot more… fighting in the future we need to prepare for."

"Hn. Plenty of opportunity to learn here, I hope you don't plan on slacking."

"Heh, not a chance! As if I'd let you catch up to me."

"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep tonight. What do you want to do about the three infiltrators that watched us?"

"Er, just let them be? It's not a big deal, y'know…"

"Hmm. They could be co-conspiring against us."

"You're harsh as ever, leave them alone."

"You can never be too sure…"

"Have a little faith in your fearless leader and the people around us, yeesh!" Naruko announced with a friendly pat to an unamused Sasuke's head. Turning back around to face the stars again, the girl smiled.

"I have a feeling we're not the only ones who want to see Fódlan united in camaraderie, corny as that sounds!"

* * *

Byleth let out a rather large sneeze despite taking shelter within an inn from the cool night, idly rubbing their nose.

"Sheesh, you could have woken everyone up with that one. I think that was the loudest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth." Jeralt joked coming in from the other room. The child of the mercenary turned to address the approaching father, neutral as usual.

"Sorry about that..."

"No need to apologize for something you can't control. Coming down with something?"

"I don't think so, I don't feel any different. Just a feeling…"

"Oh? Something on your mind, kid?"

"Ah, nothing you have you have to worry about." Byleth reassured, looking out the window, idly staring at the stars. "It almost feels like… things will begin changing soon."

Jeralt stared at young adult, taking in the oddities of his only child in stride. It hadn't been easy raising the youth, but he was proud all the same. The combat veteran walked up to place a reassuring hand on his offspring's shoulder.

"I can't say for certain I understand these dreams you've been having recently, nor anything about this cryptic premonition you've got going on but whatever issue you have we'll handle it together, alright?" He was rewarded with a thankful nod. Byleth always struggled to express emotions, but the legendary mercenary understood the appreciation all the same with a smile of his own. "It does you no good to dwell on things out of your control, just keep your mind clear so it doesn't weigh you down in battle."

Walking back towards the sleeping quarters, the father had one final bit of wisdom to impart.

"Just keep it simple. Whenever you're faced with adversity, don't hesitate. Just act."

It was sound advice to Byleth who looked up to the man, even if it was difficult to emote.

"Understood. Thank you for your support."

"Heh. Anytime, kid. Let's get some shuteye before the job tomorrow, hm?"

* * *

_**Tbh I kinda want to hear what Byleth sneezing sounds like now. Is it one of those demure huffs or like an airhorn going off?**_

_**Anyone else?**_

_**No?**_

_**Just me?**_

_**Oh.**_

_**I think the question that's come up the most is Byleth's role in this story or at least how they will impact events. Rest assured, the good professor is going to play a very important part in this story as usual but exactly how in depth their role might be is going to have to be seen. In case it isn't evident, this is obviously set prior to beginning of 3H, not too far back but enough to integrate the Konoha crowd into the Class of 1180. By the time the first part of the game happens, you can bet Naruko and friends will be fully integrated into the Academy.**_

_**Oh yeah, about Jiraiya. As mentioned previously, I'm not 100% certain on the existence of godfathers in FE but for the sake of more meaningful interactions, he got upgraded to grandparent. Hopefully it hammers home how much the relationship between Naruko and Jiraiya means to one another, but it's something that will inevitably be explored and developed as part of Naruko's character focus as well as his. Additionally, while I gave some thought as to what would be his most logical class in this setting, I ultimately settled on him being a Dark Knight which has magic and sword proficiency I thought complimented his talents in ninjutsu and taijutsu in this world. Yeah there's a Sage class but it's, uh, not really the same. Hopefully it makes a little sense.**_

_**Beyond that cameo and introduction, have a little Church staff interaction, post-battle jitters, and a little tactical espionage starring the worst three-man spy team in existence (all done in good fun, of course). Next chapter is the long-awaited meeting with the other three houses and their esteemed leaders, guaranteed to be an experience with a spaz like Naruko. The academy phase is undeniably going to be lighthearted. I plan on dedicating plenty of time in developing the relationships among characters while slowly progressing through the school year. The plan is to build up interactions between characters while having a little fun along the way.**_

_**Alright I think that covers everything from my end. As always feel free to drop me questions if you have any in the reviews, more than happy to answer anything reasonable that comes my way since I don't have to deal with hoards of reviews like those DxD fanfics. Being in a tertiary crossover fandom like this one has its perks after all. As always, I appreciate the support thrown my way. I'll be working on the next part of this story, hopefully writing Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude the way they're meant to be portrayed. Their relationship is going to be the crux of this story after all, so I want to make sure that's done right.**_

_**Until next time!**_


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